Battle of the River Plate

In Montevideo

Initially, the British diplomats in Uruguay tried to have Admiral Graf Spee forced to leave the neutral port immediately. After consultation with London, who were of course aware that there were no significant British naval forces in the area, they continued to demand openly that the Graf Spee leave, but secretly arranged that British merchant ships would sail from Montevideo at intervals of 24 hours, whether ready to sail or not. This prevented the Graf Spee from leaving, under the terms of a rule which prevented a belligerent warship from leaving a neutral port less than 24 hours after a merchant ship of the other side, and thus allowed more time for British forces to reach the area.

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British efforts were made to feed false intelligence to the Germans that an overwhelming British force was being assembled, including the aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal and the battlecruiser HMS Renown, when in fact only the heavy cruiser HMS Cumberland was nearby. Cumberland arrived at 22:00 on 14 December after steaming at full speed for 36 hours from the Falkland Islands. Though several warships were steaming to the location at full speed, none would have arrived for days; Cumberland, with 8-inch (203mm) guns, was little more powerful than Exeter, and no match alone for Admiral Graf Spee, whose 11-inch (279mm) guns had longer range and fired much heavier shells.

Related Topics:
Intelligence - Aircraft carrier - HMS ''Ark Royal'' - Battlecruiser - HMS ''Renown'' - HMS ''Cumberland'' - 14 December

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Intense negotiations were undertaken. 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. Ultimately he chose to scuttle his ship in the River Plate estuary (December 17) to avoid risk to his crew, a decision that is said to have infuriated Hitler. The crew of Admiral Graf Spee was taken to Buenos Aires, where Captain Langsdorff subsequently committed suicide on 19 December. Some crew members were reported to have moved to Montevideo with the help of local people of German origin.

Related Topics:
Negotiations - Internment - River Plate - December 17 - Hitler - Buenos Aires - 19 December - Montevideo

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