Changes

An hour and twenty minutes of intense combat was followed by a long day's pursuit as ''Admiral Graf Spee'' headed for [[Montevideo]], [[Uruguay]], harried by ''Ajax'' and ''Achilles''. She arrived just after midnight on 14 December and requested time to make repairs, reporting to the Uruguayans that she had been hit some seventy times. The British decided to keep the German warship in port as long as possible so they could bring up reinforcements. To this end they resorted to diplomatic trickery and broadcast misleading reports that the carrier ''Ark Royal'' and battle cruiser ''Renown'' were nearby. Captain Langsdorf, with much of his ammunition expended and his ship damaged, was soon persuaded that escape was impossible. After consulting with the German Government, in the early evening of 17 December he took his ship out into the broad river and blew her up, completely demolishing ''Admiral Graf Spee's'' after portion and leaving her a sunken, burned-out wreck.

An hour and twenty minutes of intense combat was followed by a long day's pursuit as ''Admiral Graf Spee'' headed for [[Montevideo]], [[Uruguay]], harried by ''Ajax'' and ''Achilles''. She arrived just after midnight on 14 December and requested time to make repairs, reporting to the Uruguayans that she had been hit some seventy times. The British decided to keep the German warship in port as long as possible so they could bring up reinforcements. To this end they resorted to diplomatic trickery and broadcast misleading reports that the carrier ''Ark Royal'' and battle cruiser ''Renown'' were nearby. Captain Langsdorf, with much of his ammunition expended and his ship damaged, was soon persuaded that escape was impossible. After consulting with the German Government, in the early evening of 17 December he took his ship out into the broad river and blew her up, completely demolishing ''Admiral Graf Spee's'' after portion and leaving her a sunken, burned-out wreck.

Her crew went to [[Argentina]] where, on the night of 19-20 December 1939, Captain Langsdorf took his own life. The Battle of the River Plate, first of World War II's many great sea battles, greatly boosted British prestige and morale, but at considerable cost. The badly injured ''Exeter'', initially thought not worth repairing, was out of the war for fifteen months. Repairs to ''Ajax'' lasted until mid-1940.

Her crew went to [[Argentina]] where, on the night of 19–20 December 1939, Captain Langsdorf took his own life. The Battle of the River Plate, first of World War II's many great sea battles, greatly boosted British prestige and morale, but at considerable cost. The badly injured ''Exeter'', initially thought not worth repairing, was out of the war for fifteen months. Repairs to ''Ajax'' lasted until mid-1940.

''Admiral Graf Spee's'' shattered wreck has remained there ever since, partially visible in the shallow water. Recently (beginning in 2004) a group based in Uruguay has salvaged some of her weapons and fittings.

''Admiral Graf Spee's'' shattered wreck has remained there ever since, partially visible in the shallow water. Recently (beginning in 2004) a group based in Uruguay has salvaged some of her weapons and fittings.