Battle Of The River Plate: British Film On Youtube

[HenryNisental]

Yes, the remains of the Graf Spee are located about 6 to 8 miles from Montevideo.
A group of Uruguayans had lifted some parts of the ship and they are in display in that city (I just saw them).
The anchor and the telemetry gunshight can be seen at the city´s port. In Pocitos there is a naval museum with a deck gun from the ship, and inside the building there is a complete display with memorabilia, photos, videos, uniforms, etc, excelent job for the uruguayans.

 

[cbonanni]

The British invaded and occupied Buenos Aires for 4 months in 1806. Perhaps that should be the first battle of the River Plate.

Excellent historical account written by Dudley Pope.

Graf Spee stuff is really cool as well.

 

[germano]

Captain Langsdorf sank the Grafspee and later commited suicide.

Suicide was maybe the only option in order to protect his family back home ...

 

[HenryNisental]

More tips:
The Graf Spee was the first warship in the wold to have a gun radar installed in the top mast.
That is the reason she faced off trhee British warship and trashed them. Had she pressed the attack
she might have sank the British cruiser AJAX, which was so mauled it had to be sent to Falkland/Malvinas for repairs.
The British ignored this fact but during the war they officially bought the remains from the Uruguayan Goverment, then dismantled the gun radar and sent it to London. They were amazed at the sofistication of the german radar.

 

[camberiu]

Argentine army in the 1940s. Imagine being in a country made up mostly of blacks and browns, and having these guys, heavily armed and dressed like that, staring at you from across the border.

 

[sergio]

I find it ironic that many Argentines are quick to take the moral high ground when it comes to condemning the US or the UK yet when it came to the greatest battle against tyranny of all time Argentina sat it out while surely profiting by trade with the Germans. Buenos Aires must have been the ideal post for a Nazi diplomat. At the bitter end of the war when Argentina conveniently ended their "neutrality" all the Third Reich embassy personnel had to do was clear their desks at the embassy on Quintana and take up residence in a welcoming city. Eichmann never even bothered to change his name, evidently confident enough that no one would care. After the war Nazi colonies flourished around the country and it became a joke known round the world that Argentina was a safe haven for Nazi criminals. Just like the Japanese who have been pressured to come clean in their history books and acknowledge their horrific behavior in China, Argentina needs to take a close look at how Peronism facilitated Nazism. We can see even now the authoritarian nature of Peronism manifest in the conduct of the current regime.

 

[germano]

Argentine army in the 1940s. Imagine being in a country made up mostly of blacks and browns, and having these guys, heavily armed and dressed like that, staring at you from across the border.

The Chilean army still uses the Prussian helmets (like the ones above) for their parade uniforms:

 

[sergio]

Yes, the Chilean army has a strong Prussian tradition. Apparently the army still has influence in Chile:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmZGuPfGNrY

 

[glasgowjohn]

Was the Chilean navy not founded by a Welshman called Cochrane?

This was a barroom chat several years ago in Valparaiso...........

 

[cbonanni]

During the Battle of the Pacific (1876 ) , Chile had British advisors for the Navy as they captured Peruvian territory and cut Bolivia off from the Pacific.