Figure 1.--'Graf Spee' and the German crew aroused huge interest in Montivedo when theship entered the harbor. This is the funeral cortege for the fallen German crew nembers. You can see the line of hearses carrying the caskets behind the flower draped first car.

Graf Spee took refuge in the Urugayan port of Montevideo early in the morning (December 14). Cpt. Langsdorff's asessment was that the battle damage made it iumpossible for Graf Spee to make it back to the Reich wihout repairs. This allowed the crew to receive needed medical attention and the dead to be buried. The whole spectacle arounsed huge interested among the Uruguayan public which had only been reading about the War. Suddenly the intrnational press and the eyes of the world were upon this tiny South Anmerican republic. [Roberts, p. 261.] Huge crowds formed at the docks where Graf Spee dropped anchor. And more crowds eveywhere the crew went, including the funeral ceremonies for the sailors killed in the battle. Going into Montevideo undoubtedky saved the crews' lives. They might have broken through the British cruisers wating off shore, but they never would have gotten home to the the Reich. Going into Montivedo is often seen as a serious tactical error by Cpt. Langsdorff. The Uruguyans were favoravly disposed toward the British. President Alfredo Baldomir Ferrari was elected (1938). He was a member of the Colorado Party and like many Latin American presidents, a former military man. He is best known for leading Uruguay to support the Allies during World War II. Even more importantly, had Langsdorff been granted time for repairs, a powerful British fleet would have awaited him. Montivedo was a tactical dead end, but although Graf Spee did not look badly damaged, ther was serious damage that left him few choices. Cpt. Langsdorff would have been treated differently had he made for the nearby Argentine port of Buenos Aires. Even more importantly, the German vessel was not damaged strucurally and might have disappeared into the vast Atlantic, although the damage probably would have prevented it from getting home. There was no structural damage, but important systems were damaged like the fresh water and fuel purification system. Her main armour was pierced and she sustained serious internal damage to communication systems, and most of her magazines were cut off. Most of the ship's amunition had been expended in the enagement with the British crisers. Uruguay was a neutral nation and despite demands from the German Government granted Cpt. Langsdorff only a 3 day stay as required by the Hahue Convention. This was not enough time to make needed repirs. And the Hgue Convention only allowed repairs go make her sea worthy, not to imprive her combt power. Cpt. Langsdorff wanted to charter an airplane so he could see what was beyond the horizon, but was unable to do so. And his spotter polsne was not functloning which is why he vlundered into the British cruisers to bgin with. The BBC broadcasted a false report describing a massive force assemblying outside Uruguayan waters. The Bitish Ambassador pressed for ony a 24 hour grace period, giving Langsdorff the idea that a substantial British had already been assembled. [Roberts, p. 261.]

Sources

Pope, Dudley (2005). The Battle of the River Plate: The Hunt for the German Pocket Battleship Graf Spee (Ithaca: McBooks Press, 2005).

Roberts, Andrew. A History of the English Spoeaking Countries since 1900 (Harpoer Collins: Mew York, 2007), 736. This is is a continuation of Winston Chuchill's series..

Created: 12:31 AM 7/10/2022
Last updated: 9:58 PM 7/10/2022