Graf Spee Scuttled: Captain Sinks His Own Battleship in Montevideo
Captain Hans Langsdorff scuttled the pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee in Montevideo harbor rather than face the Royal Navy warships waiting offshore, ending the first major naval chase of World War II. Three days later, Langsdorff shot himself in a Buenos Aires hotel room, wrapped in the Imperial German naval ensign.
December 17, 1939
87 years ago
Key Figures & Places
World War II
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Montevideo
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Battle of the River Plate
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Hans Langsdorff
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German pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee
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World War II
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crimes against humanity
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Gregorio Conrado Álvarez
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Admiral Graf Spee
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Montevideo
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Uruguay
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Siege of Sevastopol (1941–1942)
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Borneo
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Battle of the River Plate
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Hans Langsdorff
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Desaparición forzada
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Ulm
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Derecho de autor en Uruguay
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Ulmer Münster
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