Battle of the River Plate

The Battle of the River Plate, fought on December 13, 1939, was a naval engagement during World War II between British and German forces. The British warships HMS Exeter, Ajax, and Achilles engaged the German flagship Admiral Graf Spee, which was disrupting Allied shipping in the South Atlantic. The battle took place near the estuary of the River Plate, off the coast of Uruguay and Argentina. After a fierce exchange, the Graf Spee was damaged and later scuttled by its captain to avoid capture, marking a significant early victory for the Allies in the naval conflict of the war.