The Battle of the River Plate

Set during the opening years of World War II when the Royal Navy was fighting a desperate battle to keep the Atlantic convoy routes open and the British Isles supplied. Of great danger were the numerous surface/commerce raiders that had slipped out of German waters just before war was declared. These included battleships, heavy cruisers and auxiliary cruisers such as "Bismarck", "Scharnhorst", "Gneissenau", "Admiral Graf Spee", "Prinz Eugen" and "Atlantis". These ships were supplied by axis cargo ships or tankers and primarily attacked and sank merchant shipping. They could and did strike anywhere and everywhere. This story is loosely based on the story of one such ship, the "Admiral Graf Spee", and how 3 lightly armed Royal Navy cruisers with mere 6 and 8 inch guns boldly took on this powerful "pocket battleship" armed with 11 inch guns. The Royal Navy cruisers should have been blown out of the water before they could fire a single shot by the longer range 11 inch guns but ...