She was known as Germany's Tiger of the Seas, a feared hunter with an impressive number of victories in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans.
For months she had ruthlessly hunted Allied merchant vessels, but now she came under the attack of HMS Exeter, HMS Ajax and HMNZS Achilles. And for the first time, the pride of the German fleet was outmanoeuvred and outgunned- and on the run.
The efforts of her captain to carry out vital repairs in the neutral port of Montevideo were cut short and the Graf Spee was forced to return to the open sea and the face the waiting British ships. It was to be her last journey and the end of a gallant engagement between men of two navies.