Chapter 33 Volume 1, Chapter XXIX. The Naval Battle Off the Platte Mouth

Raiders at sea German pocket battleships Admiralty orders British search fleet Three hundred miles of limits of the Americas Our proposal to the United States Domestic concerns Deutschland's prudence Graf Spee's daring captain Langsdorf's strategy Platter estuary Outer Harwood Commodore's fleet His foresight and luck The encounter on December 13 The error of Langsdorf The Exeter out of action The retreat of the German pocket battleships The pursuit of Ajax and Axili The Spee fled into the port of Montevideo. On December 17, I sent the letter to the Prime Minister to concentrate on Langsdorf in Montevideo. The Fuehrer ordered the Spee to be scuttled. Langsdorf committed suicide. The initial sea raid on British merchant ships ended the effect of the war outside the mouth of the Platte River, the Altmark, the Exeter, and my telegram to President Roosevelt.

While the threat of submarines, where we suffer the most damage and bear the greatest risk, the assault of our oceanic commerce by surface raiders, if allowed to persist, is even more dire.The three German pocket battleships approved by the Versailles Peace Treaty were designed with foresight by the Germans, and they were prepared to use them as warships to attack merchant ships.Their six 11-inch caliber cannons, their speed of 26 knots, and their armor were all compressed within the limit of 10,000 tons of displacement through ingenious technology.Any single British cruiser is no match for them.German cruisers equipped with eight-inch cannons are more modern than ours, so if used to attack merchant ships, they may also be a terrible threat.Additionally, the enemy may use camouflaged merchant ships armed with heavy weapons.The raids of the Emden and the Knigsberg in 1914, and the scene in which we were forced to muster more than thirty warships and armed merchant ships to destroy them, remain in our memory made a vivid impression.

Before the outbreak of this new war there were many rumors that a pocket battleship or two had been sailed from Germany.Our Home Fleet has searched, but to no avail.We now know that both the Deutschland and the Admiral Graf Spee sailed from Germany between the 21st and 24th of August, before we organized the blockade and the northern patrol fleet. , has sailed freely in the ocean through the danger zone.On September 3, after the Deutschland passed through the Denmark Strait, it was lurking near Greenland.The Graf Spee crossed the North Atlantic trade lanes undetected and had reached far south of the Azores.Each of these two warships is accompanied by a support ship to supply fuel and other items.They were all inactive at first, submerged in the vast ocean.Unless they engage in raids, there is no loot to be gained.At the same time, as long as they do not attack, they will not encounter any danger.

The German Admiralty issued an order on August 4th, and its insight was very wise: Wartime missions use all possible means to obstruct and destroy the enemy's trade shipping. If you encounter the enemy's navy, even if they are at a disadvantage, you can only engage with them if it is conducive to the completion of the main mission. In the field of operation, the constant change of location will render the enemy unpredictable, and at least limit the movement of the enemy's merchant ships, if not with obvious results.In addition, temporarily leaving the local area and going to a distant area can also make the enemy feel more confusing.

If the enemy should use a superior force to protect their shipping, and prevent us from obtaining immediate results, the mere fact that the enemy's shipping is in this way shows that we have greatly impaired their supply situation. Valuable results can also be obtained if the pocket battleships remain in the enemy's convoy. To all these wise observations the Admiralty was sadly obliged to agree. On September 30, the Clement, a British liner of 5,000 tons, was sunk by the Graf Spee off Pernambuco in a solo voyage.This news shocked the British Admiralty greatly.This is exactly the signal we've been waiting for.

Accordingly, many search parties were formed at once, including all our available aircraft carriers, assisted by battleships, battlecruisers, and cruisers.According to general judgment, a search force of two or more warships is capable of intercepting and destroying a pocket battleship. In all, in the next few months, in order to search for the two raiding ships, it was necessary to form nine search fleets, including twenty-three powerful warships.In order to protect the important North Atlantic merchant fleet, we were forced to send three additional battleships and two cruisers as additional escorts.These requirements are a very serious weakening of the strength of our Home Fleet and the Mediterranean Fleet, since we must draw from these fleets twelve of the most powerful warships, including three aircraft carriers.

Search fleets depart from widely dispersed bases in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans and are able to cover all major focus areas through which our ships pass.An enemy attacking our trade shipping cannot but be within the reach of at least one search fleet.To give people an idea of ​​the scale of these searches, I have compiled a comprehensive list of the various search fleets at the time of their peak. The main purpose of the American government during this period was to keep the war as far as possible from their shores.On October 3, representatives of twenty-one American republics met in Panama, and resolved to declare an American safety zone, advocating the establishment of an area between 300 and 600 miles from their coasts, within which no war operations should take place.We would also very much like to keep the war out of American waters to some extent, and indeed it is to our advantage.I therefore promptly informed President Roosevelt that if the United States demanded that the belligerents respect this safe zone, we would immediately declare our willingness to accept their wish, provided, of course, that our rights under international law were respected.We do not care how far south the extent of this zone extends, provided that it can be effectively maintained.If this safety zone is guarded only by a few weak neutral countries, we will have great difficulty in accepting this proposal; but if it is guarded by the U.S. Navy, we are quite at ease.The more American warships patrolling the coasts of South America, the more satisfied we will be; for then the German raiders we are searching for may prefer to leave the territorial waters of the American countries for the South African trade lanes, where we Prepare to deal with them.However, if there is a sea attack ship that starts activities from the American safe zone, or escapes into this safe zone for refuge, we hope that there should be some guarantees, or that we are allowed to defend ourselves, so as not to be harmed by the attack ship.

Search Fleet Organization Chart October 31, 1939 Escorts added to the North Atlantic Merchant Fleet: Battleships: Revenge, Resolute, Wospite. Cruisers: Emerald, Enterprise. During this period we have had no definite news of the sinking of three ships on the Cape of Good Hope route between October 5th and 10th.All three ships were sailing alone for homecoming.We received no signal from them for help, but the fact that they were so long overdue gave rise to suspicion.It was several days before we could conclude that they had fallen victim to the raider. The necessity of dispersing our naval forces, especially since our main fleet is concealed along the western coast of England, arouses anxiety among myself and others.

First Sea Lord and Deputy Chief of Naval Staff: October 21, 1939 The enemy ship Scheer's first appearance in the waters off Pernambuco, her subsequent surreptitious whereabouts, and why she did not attack the trading shipping, raise the question whether the Germans are going to provoke us to send the remaining ships to , to spread widely, if so, for what purpose?Of course they should, as the First Sea Lord said, want us to concentrate our ships in domestic waters so that they can be the targets of their air strikes.And more than that, how did they anticipate the extent to which we would react to the legend of the Scheer in the South Atlantic?All these actions of the enemy appear aimless; but the Germans are not a people who act without reason.

Can you be sure this is the Scheer and not a ruse or fake news? I heard German radio boasting that they were driving our fleet out of the North Sea.At present, this statement is not as false as many of the lies they have made in the past.Therefore, the eastern seaboard may be in danger of being attacked by surface warships.Can we send our own fleet of submarines overseas to operate near likely routes of enemy attack?They may need a destroyer to protect them, to scout for them.The location of their activities should be far away from the surveillance line of our trawler.It is probable that something will happen soon, since we have now moved back a considerable distance in order to buy time.

I am the last person to incite the terror of aggression.During my initial period in 1914 and 1915, I struggled constantly with this kind of thinking.Nevertheless, the Chiefs of Staff should well consider what would happen if, say, 20,000 men crossed the sea and landed in Harwich or Webern Inlet, where there is deep water near the coast?The invasion of 20,000 men may have given Mr. Hall Belisha a far more realistic sense of training his army than is now anticipated.Now that the night is long, it is quite beneficial for the enemy's attempt.Does the Ministry of War have any plans to prevent such extraordinary incidents?It is important to remember where we are now in the North Sea.I don't think that's really going to happen, but it's a real possibility. The Deutschland originally intended to harass our lifeline across the Northwest Atlantic, but she gave a thorough and careful explanation of her orders.During its two and a half months of patrolling, it never came close to our convoy.Determined to do her best to avoid the British fleet, she sank only two ships, one of which was a small Norwegian ship.A third ship, the American Flintstone, was captured en route to England carrying a cargo, but was later released by the Germans in a Norwegian seaport.In early November, the Deutschland sailed across the Arctic Ocean again and dived back to Germany.However, the mere fact that this mighty warship is present on our main trade shipping lane, as it wishes, has put a severe strain on our escort ships and search fleet in the North Atlantic.In fact, we would rather have it out and about than be threatened by the shadowy menace it contains. Graf Spee was more daring and imaginative, so she soon became the center of attention in the South Atlantic.In mid-October, the powerful navies of the allies launched activities in this vast sea area.A fleet consisting of the aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal and the battlecruiser Prestige based in Freetown, together with a French squadron of two heavy cruisers and the British aircraft carrier HMS Helmize based in Dakar .At the Cape of Good Hope there are two heavy cruisers, HMS Sussex and HMS Shropshire; at the same time, along the eastern coast of South America, in order to protect the important shipping to the Platte River and Rio de Janeiro, there are Commodore Harwood's Fleet, including Cumberland, Exeter, Ajax, and Axili.The Axili is a New Zealand warship, and the officers and soldiers on board are mainly New Zealanders. The Spey's method is to appear briefly in a certain place, find a victim, and then disappear in the boundless sea again.It was not seen again for almost a month, after it sank only one merchant vessel on its second appearance farther south of the Cape of Good Hope.During this month, our search fleets searched all over the various areas, and instructed the Indian Ocean fleet to maintain special vigilance.In fact, the Indian Ocean is its destination.On November 15, it sank a small British tanker in the Mozambique Channel between Madagascar and the African continent.Thus, as a sleight of hand, it emerged in the Indian Ocean to lead the search fleet in that direction, after which its captain, the ingenious Rangsdorf, quickly turned back and re-entered by taking a longer course south of the Cape of Good Hope. Atlantic.It was not that we hadn't anticipated this move, but our plans to intercept it were defeated by its rapid retreat.The Admiralty was at a loss as to whether it was in fact one, or two, raiders carrying out surreptitious activities.Therefore, we will search vigorously in both the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean at the same time.At this time we thought that the Spey was its sister ship, the Scheer.We were indeed troubled by the disproportion between the strength of the enemy and the means by which we were forced to deal with it.This brings me back to those anxious weeks in December 1914, first at Coronel and then at the Falklands, when we had to fight seven or eight times in the Pacific and South Atlantic. At the same time, it is ready to wait for Admiral von Spee to lead the former Scharnhorst and Gneisenau to fight.Twenty-five years have passed, and the puzzling puzzle remains the same. So when the Spee reappeared on the way between the Cape of Good Hope and Freetown, sinking two ships on the 2nd of December, and another on the 7th, the news was a real relief to us. From the beginning of the war, Commodore Harwood's special mission and duty was to protect the British shipping outside the mouth of the Platte River and on the waters of Rio de Janeiro. He was convinced that the Spey would sail to the Platte River sooner or later, because it Can loot extremely rich catches.He had carefully considered the tactics he would employ in the event of an encounter.The eight-inch gun cruisers Cumberland and Exeter under his command, and the six-inch gun cruisers Ajax and Axili, combined, could not only intercept but also destroy enemy ships.However, due to fuel and refurbishment needs, it seems unlikely that all four warships will be engaged at the same time on the expected day.If this is the case, it is difficult to be sure.As soon as Harwood heard that the Doris Star had been sunk on 2 December, he made the correct prediction.Although the Spee was still three thousand miles away, he decided that it was heading for the Platte.With great luck and judiciousness he estimated that the Spee might arrive on the thirteenth.He ordered all available ships to muster there on December 12th.Unfortunately the Cumberland was at this time under repair in the Falkland Islands; but by the morning of the thirteenth the Exeter, Ajax, and Arxili were assembled in the center of the route off the mouth of the Platte.At 6:14 in the morning, I saw black smoke rising from the east.The long-awaited encounter has arrived. Harwood was stationed on board the Ajax, and dispatched his ships to bombard the little battleship from a great distance apart, so that the enemy's guns were diverted from one another.At top speed, he led his small fleet forward.Spee's captain Rangsdorf, at first catching a glimpse of the flotilla, thought that only one light cruiser and two destroyers had to be dealt with, and so he too proceeded at top speed; but, a moment later, he recognized his adversary's From the actual situation, one knew that a life-and-death duel was imminent.The ships on both sides were now rapidly approaching at nearly fifty miles an hour.Langsdorf now had only a minute to make a decision.The right course for him to take would be to turn around at once, and for as long as possible to place his adversary at the advantage of the range and power of his eleven-inch guns, for in such circumstances the British The ship was initially unable to return fire.Thus, since he can fire unhindered, this enables him to increase his speed while forcing the opponent to slow down, thereby increasing the distance between the two sides.It is also probable that he will not wait for any enemy ship to bombard him before he can deal a heavy blow to it.Instead, he decided to press on and approach the Exeter.Therefore, both sides started fighting almost at the same time. Commodore Harwood's tactics proved advantageous.All of Exeter's eight-inch guns, fired in unison, struck Spee at the very beginning of the battle.At the same time, two cruisers with six-inch guns also launched a heavy and effective bombardment.Soon after, the Exeter was hit by a shell, which destroyed all the bridge traffic except for the No. B turret, and almost all the people on the bridge were killed or injured. At the same time, the ship was temporarily out of control. .But now the attack of the two cruisers with six-inch guns was so fierce that the enemy ship could no longer be ignored, so the Spey directed her main battery of battery against them, thus giving the Exeter, in her peril, respite.The German frigate, caught between three sides, felt that the British frigate's attack was too violent, and soon after, releasing a screen of smoke, she turned away, evidently intending to sail for the Platte River.Langsdorf should have done this long ago. After turning around, the Spee resumed shelling the Exeter, which had been damaged by eleven-inch shells.All of the ship's forward guns were destroyed, her belly was burning violently, and her hull was heavily listed.Captain Bell was unhurt when the bridge exploded; he and two or three officers assembled at the aft control station, and using the only surviving turret, kept the ship engaged until seven-thirty, when the last turret, due to lack of pressure, Also lost combat effectiveness.There was nothing he could do now.At seven-forty, the Exeter turned and sailed for repairs, and was no longer in combat. The Ajax and the Axili had begun to pursue the enemy ships at this time, and they continued to fight with great vigor.Spee bombarded them with all the heavy guns on board.At 7:25, the two rear turrets of the Ajax were destroyed, and the Axili was also damaged.The guns of these two light cruisers were no match for the enemy's, and Harwood, stationed on Ajax, finding his shells running low, resolved to call off the battle till night, when he would have better opportunity to use light weapons effectively, perhaps using torpedoes.Therefore, under the cover of a smoke screen, he turned and drove away, and the enemy did not pursue him.This fierce battle lasted for an hour and twenty minutes.For the rest of the day, Spee headed for Montevideo, followed by the British cruisers, shelling each other only occasionally.Shortly after midnight, the Spee entered the port of Montevideo, anchored there to repair the damaged part of the ship, loaded the necessary supplies, brought the wounded ashore, transferred the crew to a German merchant ship, and reported the situation to Germany. head of state.The Ajax and the Axili were moored outside the port, and they decided that if the German ship dared to sail out of the port, they would pursue it until it was destroyed.Meanwhile, on the night of the 14th, the Cumberland had sailed from the Falkland Islands at top speed to replace the badly damaged Exeter. The arrival of this cruiser with eight-inch caliber guns brought an uncertain situation back to balance with difficulty. On the thirteenth I spent most of my time in the War Room of the Admiralty, watching closely the dramatic developments of this exciting naval battle with great excitement.Our apprehensions continued on that day, when Mr. Chamberlain was visiting our expeditionary force in France.On the seventeenth I wrote to him: December 17, 1939 Should the Spey break out tonight, we hope to continue the fight on the 13th with the Cumberland, armed with eight eight-inch guns, instead of the six-gun Exeter.The Spee now knows that our Renown and Ark Royal are refueling in Rio de Janeiro, so this is her best chance.The Dorsetshire and the Shropshire were sailing from the Cape of Good Hope, and would take three and four days respectively to get here.Fortunately the Cumberland was in the Falkland Islands and ready for use when the Canxet was badly wounded.The Exeter was bombarded more than a hundred times, one turret was smashed, three guns were disabled, sixty officers and men were killed and twenty were injured.The Exeter fought the enemy's superior range guns, and indeed fought a most valiant and daring battle.All conceivable precautions have now been taken against the absconding of the Spee, and I have informed Harwood (who is now Commodore and Lord Commander Hon.) that he is free to attack the ship from any point three hundred miles away. Make an attack.But we would rather have it detained, because detention would do more damage to the prestige of the German Navy than being sunk in battle. Not only that, but such battles are dangerous, and we should never cause needless bloodshed. The entirety of the Canadian Forces, under the protection of the main fleet, has arrived safely this morning and has been welcomed by Anthony and Macy, and I am sure most of Greenock and Glasgow will be as well.We are ready to give a cordial reception.They're going to Aldershot, and I expect you'll see them for yourself before long. Today along the eastern seaboard, from Wick to Dover, there have been ten air raids against ships sailing alone, some of which have been machine-gunned as a result of the enemy's anger.Some were shot on deck. I am sure you will have enjoyed your time at the front, and I hope you will find a change of scenery the best kind of rest. As soon as we heard of a naval battle, we immediately ordered a number of powerful fleets to concentrate off Montevideo, but our search fleet, of course, was widely scattered, and none of them came within two thousand miles of the theater of battle.In the north, Search Fleet K, which included HMS Prestige and Ark Royal, was completing a sweep from Cape Town ten days earlier and had now reached 600 miles east of Pernambuco and 600 miles east of Montevideo. The location of Asia 2,500 miles.Farther to the north, the cruiser Poseidon and three destroyers had just separated from the French Search Force X and were heading south to join the Search Force K.All these fleets were ordered to go to Montevideo; they had to go to Rio de Janeiro to refuel first, but we managed to give the impression that they had left Rio de Janeiro and were heading for Montevideo at thirty miles an hour Ya. On the other side of the Atlantic, Search Fleet H was returning to the Cape of Good Hope after an extended sweep off the coast of Africa, where it was preparing to refuel.Only Dorsetshire was in Cape Town and could be called immediately, so she was immediately ordered to reinforce Commodore Harwood, but she was still more than four thousand miles away.Later the Shropshire followed.In addition, in order to prevent the possible escape of the Spee to the southeast, the I search fleet in Durban at this time, which now includes the Cornwall, the Gloucester, and the aircraft carrier Eagle from the East Indies base, are all operated by The Commander-in-Chief of the Fleet in the South Atlantic. At the same time, Spee's captain Langsdorf sent the following telegram to the German Admiralty on December 16: The strategic situation outside the port of Montevideo, in addition to the cruisers and destroyers, there are still the Ark Royal and the Prestige, and the blockade is tight at night. It is hopeless to escape to the high seas and return to the territorial waters of the motherland.Whether the ship can be scuttled despite the lack of depth in the mouth of the Platte, or whether she should rather be imprisoned, be decided. At a meeting chaired by the Fuehrer and attended by Raeder and Jodl, it was decided to reply as follows: Every effort is made to prolong the time spent in neutral waters. If possible, break through the siege and sail to Buenos Aires.Never be detained in Uruguay.If the ship must be scuttled, it must be destroyed thoroughly. The German Minister in Montevideo later reported that attempts to extend the seventy-two-hour deadline had been fruitless, and the orders were then approved by the German High Command. Therefore, on the afternoon of the 17th, the Spey transferred more than 700 seamen on board, as well as luggage and supplies, to the German merchant ships in the port.Shortly thereafter, Admiral Harwood learned that the Spey was weighing anchor.At 6:15 p.m., under the watchful eyes of the vast crowd, it left the harbor and sailed slowly out to sea, where the British cruisers were eagerly waiting.At 8:54 p.m., at sunset, the aircraft on board Ajax reported that the Graf Spee had blown itself up.At this time the Renown and the Ark Royal were still a thousand miles away. Langsdorf was very sad at the loss of his warship.Although he had received orders from the government to give him full powers, on December 19th he wrote: I can now only prove with my life that the fighters of the Third Reich were ready to die in honor of the flag.I alone was responsible for the scuttling of the pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee.It is with great pleasure that I gave my life to wash away any disgrace that might tarnish the honor of our flag.I have firm belief in the cause and future of my country and the head of state, and I will face my destiny with this heart. That night, he shot himself. Thus the initial surface raids on British trading shipping at sea came to an end.After that, no other raiding ships appeared, and it was not until the spring of 1940 that the enemy started a new campaign, using disguised merchant ships for raids.Such ships are easier to avoid detection, but on the other hand, we can defeat them without using the same force as destroying a pocket battleship. As soon as the news of the self-scuttling of the Spee came, I couldn't wait to transfer all the search fleets scattered everywhere back to my country.However, Spee's support ship, the Altmark, was still at sea and it is generally believed that this warship carried the crews of the nine ships sunk by the raider. First Sea Lord: December 17, 1939 Since there was practically no enemy in the South Atlantic except for the Altmark, it seemed important to bring home Renown and Ark Royal, together with at least one eight-inch cruiser. This can make our escort work more convenient, and enable the repair work of each ship and personnel vacation to be completed.I agree with your plan of mooring two small ships in the inner port of Montevideo tomorrow, but I do not think it would be appropriate to send the K search force so far south.Moreover, with so many warships, I am afraid that they may not be allowed to enter the port at the same time.It would be very convenient if, as you propose, the Poseidon takes over from the Ajax as soon as the ceremony of victorious entry into the port of Montevideo is over; Carefully search the Altmark in the South Atlantic, and that's fine.I think we should bring home all the ships that we don't absolutely need.As long as we maintain our northern patrols, we will often need to send two, or preferably three, ships from the Firth of Clyde to reinforce the northern patrol fleet.I agree with Captain Tennant that the German Admiralty must be eager to show something to restore their reputation. Maybe you'll let me know your opinion on these ideas. At the same time, I was very anxious about the Exeter.It was suggested to me that the ship should remain in the Falklands until the end of the war without repairs, but I could not accept this suggestion. First Sea Lord, Chief of Naval Quartermaster and others: December 17, 1939 The first reports of the Exeter's damage showed the heavy fire she had received and the determination of the enemy to fight her.At the same time, it was a great honor to the Construction Division of the Admiralty that it could withstand such a long period of heavy bombardment.The story should be publicized as quickly as possible, but with all inappropriate facts (that is, facts that should not be known to the enemy) removed. Any suggestions on repairs?What to do in the Falkland Islands?I think the ship must be able to get preliminary repairs so that she can sail back to her home country for a thorough repair. First Sea Lord, Deputy Chief of Naval Staff and Chief of Quartermaster: December 23, 1939 We should not agree at once to the suggestion that the Exeter should not be repaired during the war.We should strengthen its internal structure as much as possible, support it with pillars, and remove its munitions, or the greater part of it, to some merchant or supply ship.Perhaps it could be partially loaded with casks or empty oil drums, with a greatly reduced crew, and return under the protection of a frigate, or sail to the Mediterranean, or to any of our shipyards.If, in this case, it cannot be repaired, all useful cannon and equipment should be dismantled, so that they can be transferred to new ships. These are only my general opinions, and perhaps you will let me know how to carry them out. Quartermaster General and First Sea Lord: December 29, 1939 I haven't seen a call back yet about the Rear Admiral's call in South America claiming that the Exeter was no longer worth repairing.On this point, I have put forward my opposite meaning in the memorandum.How is it going now?I understand from your conversations that we are all in favor of bringing the ship home for a thorough repair, and that the repairs will not take as long as the Rear Admiral thinks. With regard to the issue of the Exeter, what are we going to do now?How, under what conditions, and when do we get it back? We cannot allow it to remain in the Falkland Islands, where either it would be in danger or certain important warships would be there to guard it.I would be happy to hear your proposals. My opinion is accepted.The Exeter returned home safely. It is an honor to stand on the ship's shattered deck in Plymouth Harbor and pay tribute to its brave officers and men.The Exeter was retained and served for more than two years, making special achievements until it was destroyed by Japanese artillery in the decisive battle in the Sunda Strait in 1942. The results of the naval battle off the Platte estuary had rejoiced the whole nation of England, and greatly increased her prestige throughout the world.The sight of three smaller English warships attacking without hesitation an enemy ship with far more cannon and armor, and forcing it into flight, was admired by all nations of the world.Some have compared this naval battle with the unfortunate escape of the German ship Goeben in the Straits of Otranto in August 1914.However, in doing justice to the Admiral of the day, we should remember that all of Commodore Harwood's ships sailed faster than the Spey; All but one of Admiral Trowbridge's fleet in 1999 was slower than the Goeben.The scene of this naval battle, however, is always cheery, and lightens the gray and hard winter we are going through. At this time, the Soviet government was dissatisfied with us. The comment they published in the "Red Navy Gazette" on December 31, 1939 is an example of their reporting of the facts: No one dared to say that the loss of a German battleship was a glorious victory for the British fleet.On the contrary, it is a sign of unprecedented impotence that Britain has reached.On the morning of December 13, the German battleships engaged in an artillery battle with Exeter, forcing the cruiser out of the battle within minutes.According to recent reports, the Exeter sank off the coast of Argentina while en route to the Falkland Islands. On December 23, the American republics lodged a formal protest to Britain, France, and Germany regarding the naval battle outside the Platte River mouth, believing that the naval battle outside the Platte River mouth violated their security zone.About this time, two more German merchant ships were intercepted by our cruisers off the American coast.One of these was the 32,000-ton liner Columbus, which scuttled itself; its occupants were rescued by an American cruiser.The other fled into Florida territorial waters.羅斯福總統對於西半球沿海附近發生這些可惱的事件，亦不得不表示不滿，因此我在答覆中，乘機強調說明我們在普拉特河口外的海戰，對於南美各共和國的利益。南美各國的貿易，曾因德國襲擊艦的活動而受到阻撓，而南美各國的海港，亦被德國襲擊艦當作它的補給船及情報中心。按照戰爭法，德國襲擊艦有權俘獲一切在南大西洋中和我們貿易的商船，或者在安置船員以後將船擊沉；這些情況，對美洲的貿易利益，尤其是阿根廷的利益，造成了重大損害。普拉特河口外的海戰，將這些煩惱一掃而光，南美各共和國應該表示歡迎。整個南大西洋，現在已經沒有，或許永遠沒有作戰行動了。南美各國，對於這種解除戰爭憂慮的事實，應該珍視，因為它們現在實際上可以長期享受一個三千哩範圍的安全區域的利益，而不僅限於三百哩了。 我不得不再補充一點，即皇家海軍，為了尊重海上國際法，已經肩負起一個很重大的負擔。只要在北大西洋發現了僅僅一艘襲擊艦，我們就需要出動整個戰鬥艦隊的一半力量，以確保世界貿易的安全。敵人無限制地投放磁性水雷，增加了我們的驅逐艦隊和小型艦艇的繁重工作。假如我們由於不勝負擔而垮臺，恐怕南美各共和國立刻就要遇到比聽見一天遙遠的海外炮聲更為嚴重的許多憂慮，而且美國亦將在轉瞬間，遭遇到更多的要它自己直接操心的問題。因此，我覺得，我有權利請求美洲各國，對於我們在這個關鍵時期所承擔的重任應該給予充分的考慮；對於為了使戰爭在合理的時間內和在正當的方式下能夠結束而必需採取的行動，給予善意的解釋。