Battle of the atlantic, 19391941 battle of the river plate, december 1939. The dramatic sea fight between the german pocket battleship admiral graf spee and the british cruisers exeter, ajax and achilles off the coast of south america caught the imagination in december 1939. The british fleet returned to stanley to lick their wounds. It was hated by bright author nafeesa barda, played by kexin mitford and admired by madhouse.
The battle of the river plate pursuit of the graf spee, dvd, widescreen, warworld war ii, 759731412520. Download the battle of the river plate 1956 full movie in. Ships from the royal navys south american division took on the might of germanys graf spee which was successfully attacking merchant shipping in the south atlantic. The battle of the river plate a grand delusion woodman, richard a distinguished british maritime writer, woodman offers a compelling reassessment of the british and german planning that led to the first and one of the most famous naval battles of world war ii. The battle of the river plate is a 1956 british war film in technicolor and vistavision by the writerdirectorproducer team of michael powell and emeric pressburger. This is a description of the battle of the river plate fought between the british cruisers exeter, ajax and achilles and the german pocket battleship, graf spee.
Widely regarded as one of the best and most intelligent british war dramas of the 1950s, the battle of river plate is the story of britains first significant naval. The world war 2 naval action, which culminated in the battle of the river plate, had its makings with the sailing from wilhelmshaven, germany on the 21 august 1939 of the panzerschiffe or pocket battle ship admiral graf spee and her subsequent sinking of nine merchant ships in the south atlantic and indian ocean between 30 september and the 7 december 1939. The battle in the south atlantic was the first major naval battle of world war two. It is the early years of world war ii and the royal navy must fight a desperate battle to stop germanys best battleship, the admiral graf spee, from sailing to the south atlantic. The battle of the river plate film wikipedia, the free. In the first major naval battle of world war ii, the british navy must find and destroy a powerful german warship. Battle of river platedecember, 1939 the battle of the river plate was the first major naval battle in world war ii and the only military engagement between the allies and the axis in south america. The battle of the river plate was the first major naval confrontation of the second world war, and it is one of the most famous. People who liked the battle of the river plate also. Ending with the amicable parting of dove and langsdorff, the battle of the river plate omits the tragic final act of the graf spee story.
On december 19, langsdorff, seeking to avoid allegations of cowardice, committed suicide while lying on the ships ensign. An early victory for the british, the battle of the river plate ended the threat of german surface raiders in the south atlantic. It is a free print and play game web published by bookranger. The battle of the river plate in this world war ii. The audio can be heard in the original english or in a german dub, but there are no english subtitles. The battle was fought between the german pocket battleship named admiral graf spee and force g consisting of the york class heavy cruiser hms. Exeter had suffered particularly and while she was being repaired her crew were billeted with families in stanley.
After retiring from the action hms exeter made for the british base on the falkland islands to make temporary repairs. Colors are excellent and no film damage is visible. Battle of the river plate commemorative booklet royal new. During the voyage she stopped three times to bury her dead at sea. Widely regarded as one of the best and most intelligent british war dramas of the 1950s, the battle of river plate is the story of britains first significant naval victory in ww2. Battle of the river plate board game boardgamegeek. Following education at stubbington house school, harwood entered the royal navy in 1904 and specialised in torpedoes. I strongly recommend the battle of the river plate by dudley pope for a more accurate version. The battle of the river plate is a 1915 german urban literature movie based on vigar mievilles experience. Despite the lack of action reports from the graf spee destroyed after the battle, the battle can still be told relatively accurately from the accounts from the allied warships. Following his death, he was given a full funeral in buenos aires.
The author tips a nod to the wellknown eponymous movie of the battle of the river plate that used the uss salem as the graf spee and two real ships from the battle, the former hmnzs achilles and the elderly hms cumberland. Through careful card play, players build sets of cards that represent attacks by the various ships that took part in the battle. Media in category battle of the river plate the following 11 files are in this category, out of 11 total. The battle of the river plate watch movies online free movie. Click download or read online button to get the battle of the river plate book now. The battle of the river plate streaming online justwatch. The battle of the river plate history learning site.
After a short pursuit, the german vessel entered montevideo harbour in neutral uruguay under international law, the graf spee was only permitted to remain in the neutral port of montevideo for as long as it took to carry out the repairs. The historical english name river plate uses an obsolete sense of the word plate, which was used extensively as a term for silver or gold from the 12th century onwards, especially in early modern english. Unfollow battle river plate to stop getting updates on your ebay feed. For years i have lived with the title battle of the river plate in my head and mused what kind of a battle it was but never went to the trouble to find out. The film stars john gregson, anthony quayle, and peter finch. One great danger was the surface raiders, huge cruisers called pocket. Something of a swan song for the legendary michael powellemeric pressburger partnership, 1956s the battle of the river plate is their penultimate film together the following years ill met by moonlight was the last. When hms achilles opened fire on the german pocket battleship admiral graf spee on december 1939, it became the first nz unit to engage the enemy in the second world war. The films storyline concerns the battle of the river plate, an early world war ii naval battle in 1939. The graf spee was one of three deutschland class pocket battleships built by the germans in the interwar period to get around treaty restrictions imposed after world war i. What you need to know about the battle of the river plate. The battle of the river plate is a 1956 british war film in technicolor and vistavision by the. One player represents the kriegsmarine and the other player the royal navy. The battle of the river plate movie theater website of.
Itv studios home entertainments region b bluray of the battle of the river plate is a fine encoding of this handsome picture. The german heavy cruiser admiral graf spee had cruised into the south atlantic a fortnight before the war began. During operations with us navy forces off guadalcanal on 5 january 1943, the ship was damaged by a japanese air attack that killed crewmen. The battle of the river plate was the first naval battle of world war ii and the only battle of world war ii to take place in south america or its waters. She had been operating in the south atlantic and indian. Victory in the battle of the river plate, the first major naval engagement of the second world war, was a great boost to british morale during the phoney war. An account of events before, during and after the action up to the self destruction of the admiral graf spee. When war broke out in september 1939, the german pocket battleship graf spee, commanded by. Battle of river plate 1939 admiral graf spee v exeter. The battle of the river plate 1956 full movie download. It was distributed worldwide by rank film distributors ltd.
The battle of the river plate full movie hd film slideshare. The text and some of the images from this web feature have been made into a booklet for the naval museum in montevideo. The remaining two british cruisers, hms ajax and hms achilles, opened fire, forcing the graf spee to lay a smoke screen and escape. It was quite a shock not that long ago and it should really have been longer ago that i discovered that the movie based on real events was an archers.
The battle of the river plate download ebook pdf, epub. Panzerschiff graf spee 1956 kompleter film youtube. The estuary has been known as the river plate or plate river in english since at least the time of francis drake. Pursuit of the graf spee in the united states is a 1956 british war film in technicolor and vistavision by the writerdirectorproducer team of michael powell and emeric pressburger.
This site is like a library, use search box in the widget to get ebook that you want. The battle of the river plate awards and nominations. It is good to see that harwood is given credit for deducing that the graf spee would go to the river plate and for having the ships practice his tactics of attacking a pocket battleship from different directions to force it to divide its fire. The royal navy was fighting a desperate battle to keep the convoy routes open to keep the british isles supplied. It is also possible to buy the battle of the river plate on flixfling as download or rent it on flixfling online. The battle of the river plate a grand delusion woodman. The battle of the river plate took place on december th 1939. The battle of the river plate pursuit of the graf spee. The story of the pursuit of the german battleship graf spee by the british navy at the outset of world war ii. The german heavy cruiser admiral graf spee had cruised into the south atlantic a fortnight before the war began, and had been commerce raiding after receiving appropriate authorisation on 26 september 1939.
Seventy five years later, the battle of the river plate still holds a special place in this countrys naval history. Battle of the river plate is a two player card game themed on the wwii sea battle of the same name. The battle of the river plate pursuit of the graf spee 1956. Following its role in the battle of the river plate, achilles underwent repairs in auckland before escorting troop convoys and operating against japanese forces in the southwest pacific. The official dispatch summary extract from lectures presented by sir eugen millington drake, k. River plate, battle of, fought off this south american river on december 1939 between the german pocket battleship admiral graf spee and an allied naval task force. The battle of the river plate fleet auxiliary support.
Achilles role in the battle was a special source of pride for new zealanders, who welcomed the ships crew home at huge parades in. A compilation of documents and photos with details of the famous ww2 navel sea engagement, battle of the river plate, december 1939. He fully appreciates that the film is of a sort that transposes reality. Admiral sir henry harwood harwood, kcb, obe 19 january 1888 9 june 1950, was a british naval officer who won fame in the battle of the river plate.