Admiral Graf Spee had been at sea at the start of the Second World War in September 1939, and had sunk several merchantmen in the Indian Ocean and South Atlantic Oceanwithout loss of life, due to her captain's policy

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On 13 December at 05:20, the British squadron was proceeding on a course of 060° at 14 knots with Ajax at 34° 34' South 48° 17' West, 390 nmi (720 km) east of Montevideo. At 06:10, smoke was sighted on a bearing of Red-100, or 320° (to the north-west). Harwood

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The German propagandamachine had reported that Admiral Graf Spee had sunk a heavy cruiser and heavily damaged two light cruisers while only being lightly damaged herself. Admiral Graf Spee's scuttling however was a severe embarrassment and

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• Arthur, Max (16 February 2012). Lost Voices of The Royal Navy (4th ed.). London, United Kingdom of Great Britain: Hodder and Stoughton (Hachette UK). ISBN 978-1-84894-830-3–

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• Churchill, Winston (1967a) [first published 1948]. From War to War: 1919–1939. The Gathering Storm. The Second World War. Vol. I (9th ed.). London, United Kingdom of Great Britain: Cassell &

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• Atkinson, Neill; Cox, Elizabeth; Shoebridge, Tim; Green, David (27 November 2014). Vodanovich, Julia; Mackay, Jamie; Phipps,

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In 1956, the film The Battle of the River Plate (US title: Pursuit of the Graf Spee) was made of the battle and Admiral Graf Spee's end, with Peter Finch as Langsdorff and Anthony Quayleas Harwood. Finch portrays Langsdorff sympathetically as a gentleman. The Achilles,

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