36 killed 60 wounded Admiral Graf Spee critically damaged, later scuttled as a result
v
t
e
Atlantic campaign
Americas
United States
Caribbean
St. Lawrence
Northern Barrage
Blockade of Germany
Gibraltar
1939
River Plate
1940
HX 47
HX 49
1st Happy Time
HX 65
SC 2
HX 72
SC 7
HX 79
HX 84
Nordseetour
HX 90
1941
SC 19
SC 20
Berlin
HX 106
HG 53
OB 293
HX 112
4 April
OB 318
HX 126
Rheinübung
Denmark Strait
Bismarck
HX 133
OG 69
OG 71
SC 42
HG 73
SC 48
HX 156
HG 76
1942
Postmaster
2nd Happy Time
Torpedo Alley
SC 67
Neuland
ON 67
27 March
OG 82
ON 92
6 June
HG 84
SL 78
QS 15
ON 113
ON 115
SC 94
ON 122
Bell Island
QS 33
ON 127
Laconia
SQ 36
SC 100
SG 6/LN 6
SC 104
HX 212
SL 125
SC 107
ON 144
ON 153
ON 154
1943
TM 1
SG 19
SC 118
ON 166
UC 1
SC 121
HX 228
UGS 6
HX 229/SC 122
HX 231
Black May
ONS 5
HX 237
SC 129
SC 130
Faith
ONS 18/ON 202
SC 143
ONS 20/ON 206
Sept-Îles
ON 207
SL 138/MKS 28
SL 139/MKS 30
SL 140/MKS 31
Stonewall
Bay of Biscay
1944
Lyme Bay
26 April 1944
Capture of U-505
HX 300
WEP 3
BX 141
1945
Teardrop
Point Judith
5–6 May 1945
7–8 May 1945
v
t
e
American Theater (WWII)
Battle of the Atlantic
Caribbean
Canada
Angler POW escape
St. Lawrence
Bell Island
Estevan Point Lighthouse
Bowmanville
Kiebitz
Point Maisonnette
United States
Machita incident
Aleutian islands
Torpedo Alley
Ellwood
California ships
Los Angeles
Pastorius
Fort Stevens
Lordsburg killings
Lookout Air Raids
Duquesne Spies
Fort Stanton
Pelikan
Port Chicago
Fort Lawton
Fire balloon attacks
Elster
Great Papago Escape
Santa Fe riot
Point Judith
Utah prisoner of war massacre
Central and South America
River Plate
Bolívar
Pelikan
The Battle of the River Plate was fought in the South Atlantic on 13 December 1939 as the first naval battle of the Second World War. The Kriegsmarine heavy cruiser Admiral Graf Spee, commanded by Captain Hans Langsdorff, engaged a Royal Navy squadron,[1][2] commanded by Commodore Henry Harwood,[3] comprising the light cruisers HMS Ajax, HMS Achilles (on loan to the New Zealand Division) and the heavy cruiser HMS Exeter.[4]
Graf Spee had sailed into the South Atlantic in August 1939, before the war began, and had begun commerce raiding after receiving the appropriate authorisation on 26 September 1939.[5] Harwood's squadron was one of several search groups sent in pursuit by the British Admiralty and sighted Graf Spee off the estuary of the River Plate (a.k.a. the Río de la Plata) near the coasts of Argentina and Uruguay.[6]
In the ensuing battle, Exeter was severely damaged and forced to retire, making for the Falklands; Ajax and Achilles suffered moderate damage. Damage to Graf Spee, although not extensive, was critical because her fuel system was crippled. Ajax and Achilles shadowed the German ship until she entered the port of Montevideo, the capital of neutral Uruguay, to effect urgent repairs. Langsdorff was told that his stay could not be extended beyond 72 hours. Apparently believing that the British had gathered a superior force to await his departure, he ordered for the ship to be scuttled.[7][8][9] Three days later, Langsdorff killed himself.[10][11]
^Gotta, César; Buzzi, Alfredo E. (1 January 2008). Surur, Alberto; Mariluis, Carolina; Daher, Cristián; Simonetto, Raúl; Re, Rodrigo; Kohan, Andrés (eds.). "Samuel Stuart Pennington y la Batalla del Río de la Plata. Segunda parte" (PDF). Revista Argentina de Radiología (in Spanish). 72 (1). Buenos Aires, Argentina: Sociedad Argentina de Radiología: 33–40. ISSN 0048-7619. Retrieved 28 August 2021 – via Redalyc.
^Gotta, César; Buzzi, Alfredo E. (1 December 2007). Surur, Alberto; Mariluis, Carolina; Daher, Cristián; Simonetto, Raúl; Re, Rodrigo; Kohan, Andrés (eds.). "Samuel Stuart Pennington y la Batalla del Río de la Plata. Primera parte" (PDF). Revista Argentina de Radiología (in Spanish). 71 (4). Buenos Aires, Argentina: Sociedad Argentina de Radiología: 387–393. ISSN 0048-7619. Retrieved 28 August 2021 – via Redalyc.
^Konstam 2016, pp. 17–20, 3. Opposing Commanders.
^Konstam 2016, pp. 17–20, 4. Opposing Forces.
^Hughes, Terry; Costello, John (1977). Wade, J.; MacVeagh, Lincoln (eds.). The Battle of the Atlantic. New York City: The Dial Press. ISBN 978-0-8037-6454-5. OCLC 464381083.
^Grove 2013, pp. 1–56, I. The Chase and Destruction of the Graf Spee (including the Battle of the River Plate, 13 December 1939) – Plans 1, 2, 3, 4, 4A, 5 and 6.
^Rust, Eric C. (1 October 2014). Bellamy, Martin (ed.). "Command Decisions: Langsdorff and the battle of the River Plate". The Mariner's Mirror. 99 (4). London, United Kingdom of Great Britain: Society for Nautical Research/Taylor & Francis: 492–494. doi:10.1080/00253359.2013.848587. ISSN 0025-3359. S2CID 110238416. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
^Fischer, Diego (2015). Bonilla, Fernando (ed.). Tres hombres y una batalla: Historias desconocidas que rodearon a Millington-Drake y al Graf Spee (in Spanish) (3rd ed.). Montevideo, Uruguay: enguin Random House Grupo Editorial Uruguay. ISBN 978-9974-723-18-4. Retrieved 28 August 2021 – via Google Books.
^Woodman, Richard; et al. (Graphics by John Morris and Christopher Summerville) (2008). The Battle of the River Plate: A Grand Delusion. Campaign Chronicles Series (2nd ed.). Barnsley, United Kingdom of Great Britain: Pen & Sword Books Limited. ISBN 978-1-4738-4573-2 – via Google Books.
^Grove 2013, p. 1-56, I. The Chase and Destruction of the Graf Spee (including the Battle of the River Plate, 13 December 1939) – Plans 1, 2, 3, 4, 4A, 5 and 6.
^Landsborough 2016, pp. 132–135, Chapter 24: Langsdorff's Death.
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