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The '''Battle of the River Plate''' ({{battle|1939|12|13|region=NZ}}) was the first major naval battle of [[World War II]]. The [[Nazi Germany|German]] [[pocket battleship]] ([[heavy cruiser]]) ''[[Admiral Graf Spee]]'' which had been [[commerce raiding]] since the start of the war in [[September]] was engaged by two [[Royal Navy]] [[cruiser]]s, HMS ''Exeter'' and ''Ajax'', plus New Zealand's HMS ''Achilles'' off the [[River Plate]] estuary. In the ensuing battle, ''Exeter'' was severly damaged and forced to retire, while all other ships received moderate damage. ''Ajax'' and ''Achilles'' then shadowed the ''Graf Spee'' which entered neutral [[Montevideo]]. After a tense period, the captain of the ''Graf Spee'', [[Hans Langsdorff]] scuttled his ship rather than face battle again. The battle was a major propaganda blow for the Germans.
== Background ==
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