What happened to Captain Langsdorff of the Graf Spee?

Her commander, Captain Hans Langsdorff, believed he was facing impossible odds against a superior force beyond the horizon and defied Hitler’s order to fight to the last man. Three days later, he committed suicide, shooting himself in the head in a Buenos Aires hotel room.

Why was Graf Spee in Uruguay?

Admiral Graf Spee inflicted heavy damage on the British ships, but she too was damaged, and was forced to put into port at Montevideo, Uruguay. Convinced by false reports of superior British naval forces approaching his ship, Hans Langsdorff, the commander of the ship, ordered the vessel to be scuttled.

Why did Captain Langsdorff commit suicide?

Another motivation was Langsdorff’s desire to go down with the Graf Spee. Langsdorff killed himself over her ensign as a symbolic act of going down with his ship. His body was buried in the German section of the La Chacarita Cemetery in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Who sank the Graf Spee?

But the Royal Navy recorded a spirit-lifting victory just days later, after British ships cornered the imposing German warship Graf Spee off the coast of South America, defeating it in the first major naval battle of World War II.

Was the Graf Spee sunk?

Outcome: ‘Admiral Graf Spee’ deliberately sunk by its crew in neutral waters and Captain Hans Langsdorff committed suicide.

Was the Admiral Graf Spee a pocket battleship?

Graf Spee, in full Admiral Graf von Spee, German pocket battleship of 10,000 tons launched in 1936. The Graf Spee was more heavily gunned than any cruiser and had a top speed of 25 knots and an endurance of 12,500 miles (20,000 km). Wreck of the Graf Spee, 1940.

How badly damaged was the Graf Spee?

The Graf Spee was hit by at least 19 British 6- and 8-inch shells during the battle, killing 36 crewmen and wounding 60, but most of the damage to the ship was superficial.