8 December 1939
Battle of River Plate
The Graf Spee has sunk 9 merchant ships, not a single life had been lost
Historical place archive
Browse historical events and people recorded at River Plate in Germany. The records below are rendered directly from the World History Database into this page's initial HTML.
The Graf Spee has sunk 9 merchant ships, not a single life had been lost
The Graf Spee has sunk 9 merchant ships, not a single life had been lost
Graf Spee sights British warships on the morning of 13 December while approaching the River Plate area.
Langsdorff initially mistakes Ajax and Achilles for destroyers accompanying a cruiser, underestimating the British force ahead.
Believing he has found a vulnerable force, Langsdorff closes rapidly instead of exploiting Graf Spee's longer-range heavy guns.
Graf Spee opens fire on HMS Exeter with 283-millimetre guns shortly after 06:17 as the Battle of the River Plate begins.
After the engagement, Langsdorff heads for neutral Montevideo to land wounded men, release prisoners and assess battle damage.
Langsdorff alters course as British cruisers attempt torpedo attacks, repeatedly using manoeuvre and smoke to complicate their firing.
Buries the casualties of the battle
The crew are evacuated & the Graf Speee is scuttled, Langsdorf then shoots himself. Decides to scuttle his ship in the Plate Estuary to avoid unnecessary loss of life for no military advantage, against Hitler's will
Decides to scuttle his ship in the Plate Estuary to avoid unnecessary loss of life for no military advantage, against Hitler's will
Langsdorff evacuated most of his crew before scuttling Admiral Graf Spee with demolition charges outside Montevideo on 17 December 1939.
Provenance
These entries are generated from stored World History Database records whose country and place fields match Germany and River Plate. Names, dates, event labels and descriptions are reviewed and normalised as the database develops. Historical place names may not match modern administrative boundaries.
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