Battle of the River Plate





The Battle of the R'ver Plate (more accurately translated as Silver River)
(December 13, 1939) was the first major naval battle of World War II, which
resulted in the eventual sinking of the German pocket battleship Graf Spee
by scuttling, ending her successful three-month campaign against British
merchant shipping.

The British force, comprising the cruisers HMS Exeter (8" guns), HMS Ajax
and HMNZS Achilles (both 6" guns), engaged the battleship close to the
estuary of the Rio de la Plata, or Silver River, between Argentina and
Uruguay. Following intense gunnery action where the battleship had the
advantage of longer range guns, while the British were able to divide fire,
the Graf Spee eventually headed for Montevideo harbour in Uruguay.

Exeter had been severely damaged in the battle, and British propaganda
efforts were made to convince Captain Hans Langsdorff of the Graf Spee that
an overwhelming British force was being assembled, when in fact only the
Exeter's sister-ship HMS Cumberland was available and was being sent from
the Falkland Islands.

Intense negotiations were undertaken, Uruguay being neutral. While the ship
was prevented from leaving the harbour, Captain Langsdorff consulted with
his command in Germany. He received orders that permitted various options,
but not internment in Uruguay. He chose to scuttle his ship in the Rio de la
Plata estuary (December 17) to avoid risk to the crew, a decision that is
said to have infuriated Hitler. The crew of the Graf Spee was taken to
Buenos Aires, where Captain Langsdorff subsequently committed suicide.

The prisoners taken by the Graf Spee prior to her sinking of enemy ships
were transferred to her German supply ship Altmark, from which they were
freed (February 16, 1940) by a boarding party from the British destroyer HMS
Cossack while in J¿ssingfjord, in neutral Norwegian waters.

A film of the battle and the Graf Spee's end entitled The Battle of the
R'ver Plate (US Title: Pursuit of the Graf Spee) is regularly shown on television.