Category: The Hunt for the <em>Graf Spee</em>

Powell directed a film about the Battle of the River Plate. This spin-off book was written as a popular adventure story aiming at feel rather than historical accuracy. US title: Death in the South Atlantic. Reprinted in 1976 by White Lion as The Last Voyage of the Graf Spee.

The River Plate Battle. Supplement to the London Gazette of Thursday, 19 June 1947, Number 37989, pp.2759–2766.

Submitted by Admiral Harwood and concentrating on the action itself. Includes a track chart. Reprinted in 2014 in the compilation by Martin Mace and John Grehan, Capital Ships at War 1939-1945 (ISBN 1783462043).          

GREAT BRITAIN. Admiralty. German Capital Ships and Raiders in World War II. 2 vols., bibliog., illus., index. London: Frank Cass, 2002.

A compilation of battle reports prepared by the Admiralty in the 1940’s for internal use. Reprinted with an introduction by Eric Grove, these volumes include Battle Summaries 5, 11, 13, 24, 26, 27, 29., q.v.  ISBN: 0714652083 (Vol.1); 0714652830 (Vol. 2). They cover the Graf Spee and Bismarck actions, attacks on the Tirpitz, the sinking of the Scharnhorst and actions against armed merchant raiders.   

HORE, Peter. Henry Harwood: Hero of the River Plate. xi, 244p., bibliog., illus., index. Barnsley: Seaforth, 2018. ISBN: 9781526725295.

Harwood is best known for his defeat of the Graf Spee at the Battle of the River Plate. His later career, particularly as C-in-C of the Mediterranean Fleet in 1942-43 has been much denigrated as a failure. This biography sets the record straight with a much more balanced and nuanced account of his career.

ATWILL, R. F. The Battle of the River Plate (Naval Historical Society of Australia. Monograph No. 5). 16p., illus. Garden Island, NSW: Naval Historical Society of Australia, 1970.

Ron Atwill was serving on Exeter and this is his eyewitness account of the action. Reprinted as Monograph No. 105 in 2001.

COGSWELL, Reginald. Exeter: A Cruiser of the Medium Size. viii, 344p., illus. Liskeard: Maritime Books, 2017. ISBN: 9781904459729.

Cogswell was the Warrant Officer in charge of the central electrical switchboard on Exeter at the Battle of the River Plate. This is an autobiographical account of his service on the ship.

MILLER, David. Langsdorff and the Battle of the River Plate. 224p., bibliog., illus., index. Barnsley: Pen & Sword Maritime, 2013. ISBN: 1848844905.

Focuses on the German experience, including a long section on commerce raiding in WW1.

BENNETT, G.H. Hitler’s Ghost Ships: Graf Spee, Scharnhorst and Disguised German Raiders (Britannia Naval Histories of World War II). 216p., illus. Plymouth: University of Plymouth Press, 2012. ISBN: 9781841023076.

Combines three of the British official battle summaries: The destruction of the Graf Spee at the River Plate (Battle Summary 26); the sinking of the Scharnhorst at the Battle of the North Cape (Battle Summary 24); and some eight actions with German raiders in 1940-41(Battle Summary 13). The whole is linked with a good introduction.

A good work by a major historian. It gives a detailed reconstruction of the last cruise of the Graf Spee and aims to reassess the final battle and its implications.

The brief but notorious wartime career of the Graf Spee's supply ship in a popularised account.

A sort of oral history memoir or collection of anecdotes.

An illustrated pamphlet glorifying the New Zealand contribution.

A patriotic account of the sinking of the Graf Spee. This is the first of a series of volumes by a naval officer who attempts to present the public with a relatively objective view of the war.

A detailed and comprehensive review of the action.

A full account of the background to and course of the battle by a naval historian. A revised edition was published in paperback in 1974. US title: Graf Spee: The Life and Death of a Raider. The book was again reprinted in its revised form in 1987 by Alison Press. (ISBN: 0436377500).

Concerned only with the events which took place after the arrival of Graf Spee in Montevideo.

The British Minister at Montevideo at the time of the battle presents an anthology which examines briefly Admiral Von Spee at Coronel and the Falklands, before giving full contemporary accounts of the Graf Spee's last cruise and the Battle of the River Plate from survivors and commentators. Various items of memorabilia are also included.

A straightforward British account of all the events surrounding the last cruise of the Graf Spee.

An excellent modern reappraisal of the battle drawing on many previously unused sources.

A formal record of correspondence and discussions between Lord Halifax and the Norwegian Minister in London over the invasion of Norwegian territorial waters.

The story of Altmark and Graf Spee from the beginning of the war until the dramatic rescue of the prisoners when Cossack trapped Altmark in Jossing Fjord. US title: The Altmark Affair.

The author was an able seaman on the Doric Star, sunk by the raider on 2 December 1939.

Dove was captain of the Africa Shell, which was captured by the Graf Spee on 15 November 1939. He was held prisoner until the Spee was chased into Montevideo, although according to his story for at least some of that time he was treated as a guest. The book was republished in paperback in 1957.

Clearly shows the effects both of censorship and the fog of war. About half is an account of the Graf Spee and Altmark incidents.

An instant account of the battle with a decidedly patriotic view. Also covers the release of the prisoners from "the jackal Altmark."