Editing Graf Spee (section)

===Final docking===
''Admiral Graf Spee'' entered the [[neutral country|neutral]] port of [[Montevideo]], [[Uruguay]] for repairs. The damage was surveyed by a British observer on 14 December 1939, who reported that the [[port (nautical)|port]] midship 6" gun was unserviceable, the [[starboard]] anti-aircraft guns appeared out of action, rangefinders were out of action, the aircraft was wrecked, there were shell holes in the control tower and two holes below the waterline.  In total, there was evidence of 30-60 hits.<ref name="Grove">{{cite book|title=German Capital Ships and Raiders in World War II|last=Grove|first=Eric|year=2002|publisher=Routledge|isbn=0714652083|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=yfo6jOQ0lJUC|accessdate=2008-02-10}}</ref>  Captain Langsdorff and the Chief Engineer carefully kept the fuel problem secret. Although the specific details were signaled to [[Seekriegsleitung|SKL]] in January 1940 this vital information lay buried from public knowledge for sixty years.  

One of Langsdorff's first actions when he entered Montevideo was to release the 62 crew of the merchant ships he had sunk during her most recent voyage.<ref>{{cite book|title=The First Three Years of the War: A Day-by-day Record|author=Harold Hobson|year=1942|publisher=Hutchinson|accessdate=2008-02-10}}</ref> Out of nine merchant ships sunk, none of the crews had been killed. All of those released spoke highly of their treatment and of Langsdorff, who spoke perfect English and lent them English books to pass the time. Captain Dove of the ''Africa Shell'' had already become friends with Langsdorff.

Under the [[Hague Conventions (1899 and 1907)|Hague Convention of 1907]], the Graf Spee was not entitled to remain in the port for more than 24&nbsp;hours, without risking [[internment]].<ref>{{cite book|title=International Law: A Dictionary|author=Boleslaw Adam Boczek|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=NR7mFXCB-wgC|publisher=Scarecrow Press|year=2005|isbn=0810850788|accessdate=2008-02-10}}</ref>  In addition, and notwithstanding the rule already mentioned, under the same convention, the Graf Spee had to give British merchant ships 24&nbsp;hours start if they left port, and the British Consul organised for the merchant ships in port to sail at 24&nbsp;hour intervals, effectively locking the Spee in the port whilst at the same time spreading propaganda about the vast fleet of British warships converging on the area. On 14 December, British Minister Millington-Drake officially requested that the Uruguayan government intern the ship if she stayed in port longer than 24 hours, on grounds that she was still seaworthy.  The Uruguayan government obliged, announcing that if the ''Graf Spee'' did not sail within 72 hours of its arrival, it would be interned.
 
On 15 December, the ship's 36 dead were buried with full military honours in the German cemetery in Montevideo.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Battle of the River Plate|author=Joseph Montague Kenworthy Strabolgi|year=1940|publisher=Hutchinson & Co. Ltd}}</ref> At the funeral ceremony, Captain Hans Langsdorff used the naval salute, while all others around him used the [[Hitler salute|Nazi salute]].<ref>{{cite book|title=The Drama of Graf Spee and the Battle of the Plate: A Documentary Anthology|url=http://books.google.com/books?ei=6K-dR6bkFJm-swOQnb2YCg|author=Eugen Millington-Drake|publisher=P. Davies|year=1965|accessdate=2008-02-10}}</ref> Many officers of the sunk ships attended the burial of those killed in the battle. 

A ruse by the British [[intelligence (military)|intelligence]] encouraged the captain to think that he was out-numbered, with [[aircraft carrier]]s and [[battleship]]s on their way and that his escape route was cut off.  In fact, only the [[HMS Cumberland (57)|''Cumberland'']] arrived in time to reinforce the existing ships.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Third Reich Day by Day|author=Christopher Ailsby|accessdate=2008-02-11|publisher=Zenith Imprint|isbn=0760311676}}</ref>

[[Image:Graf Spee Wreck USNphoto 1.jpg|thumb|250px|''Graf Spee'' wreck in 1940]]
There were three possible channels that the ''Graf Spee'' could use in order to escape to the open sea, and the waiting British warships had to cover all of them.  

Captain Langsdorff had been in discussion with the [[Kriegsmarine]] over the various options available to him, which included fighting on, [[internment]] at [[Montevideo]] or [[scuttling]] the ship. [[Adolf Hitler]] responded personally, writing the following in his own handwriting:<ref>{{cite book|title=In the Shadow of the Hawk: An Intimate Chronicle of World War II and One Woman's Search for Meaning|author=Lester J Bartson|year=2004|publisher=University Press of Ohio|isbn=0761828699|accessdate=2008-02-10}}</ref>{{cquote|Attempt by all means to extend time in neutral waters in order to guarantee freedom of action as long as possible.  Fight your way through to [[Buenos Aires]], using remaining ammunition. No internment at [[Uruguay]].  Attempt effective destruction of ship if [[scuttle]]d.}}

At 6:15pm on 17 December 1939,<ref name="Kriegsmarine-Operations"/> the German warship left Montevideo harbour, with the British {{convert|6|in|mm|0|sing=on}} gunned cruisers [[HMS Ajax (22)|''Ajax'']], [[HMNZS Achilles (70)|''Achilles'']], and the {{convert|8|in|mm|0|sing=on}} gunned [[HMS Cumberland (57)|''Cumberland'']] waiting nearby in international waters. However, instead of trying to fight through the blockade, the German warship sailed just outside the harbour, and at 7:52, was [[scuttling|scuttled]] in the estuary by her crew in order to avoid risking the crew in what Captain Langsdorff expected to be a losing battle. Captain Langsdorff committed suicide three days later by shooting himself, in order to prove he had not acted out of fear for his own life.{{Fact|date=February 2008}}