Chieftain Talks: The Hunt for Graf Spee. Battle of the River Plate | World of Warships

The fourth episode in our series of talks from Nicholas “The Chieftain” Moran is dedicated to the 80th anniversary of the Battle of the River Plate.
Hans Wilhelm Langsdorff took command of cruiser Admiral Graf Spee in October 1938, and would later personally order the scuttling of the pocket battleship—the third of its kind, and the most advanced German Deutschland-class armored ship.

But before telling the story of Admiral Graf Spee’s raid and her eventual destruction, it’s worth saying a few words about the ship herself. Let’s dive into her rich history together!

Keep an eye out on the official World of Warships website. Your first port of call for new ship releases!

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What do you think about today's episode?:)

[TheBimjo]

As a kid my Grandmother used to tell me stories of the Graf. She was on the beach watching it pull out of port. Many Uruguayans stood on the beach and watched.

[dirites]

please lower the music, hard to listen with the vocals on the background

[xCAUTNx]

I live in a town called Ajax Named after the ship. there are streets also named exeter and Achilles. And each street sign has a warship beside the name. Also the main road here is harwood ! And there is a monument dedicated to this battle down the street.

[drakegod]

A lot of people give this ship a bad rating in-game, but I fell in love with it two years ago. It has a unique play and is always surprising, a true joy to play. Sadly, the armour and the fire rate of the ship are very poor. It could be a great ship if it was given a slight buff.

[andrewp]

Always love listening to The Chieftain. I didn’t realize how much of a fight the ship put up in the battle. However the music was a bit too loud, so I and many others (judging by comments) would prefer that the volume be lowered at the least—if not removed.

[zacharywilson]

Langsdorff was known to be a torpedo specialist, "Torpedobeats intensify"

[gilveneli]

"all flags flying" why am i crying?!

[balazsviseralek]

It would be great to do a follow up episode with the story of the Altmark. That is pretty interesting as well.

[davidpratthk]

The music is REALLY annoying. Is this a documentary or a musical?

[zonavelhalpma]

Graf Spee had Diesel engines but you dont see that on the game, and they had a very fast engine, 90% of the other engines we had boiler engines so very slow to reach the top speed, we need this diesel engine on Game war gaming .

[willytheekid]

HMNZS Achillies returned home in 1940 to a absolutely MASSIVE!! welcome home parade in New Zealand ❤...the whole nation was so proud of this little ship and her crews big fight.
...would love to see her added in game.


Kia Kaha all...lest we forget

[shaider]

This is probably the first naval battle in ww2 that I knew of as a kid, having read an old (1970') reader's digest condensation of a book about the battle.

[gazof-the-north]

Langsdorff was an honourable man and brilliant sea Captain

[simonking]

anyone else finding the music annoyingly loud?

[ratkobelajac]

Great ship, great commander!!! Honour to her men!!!

[TheFreaker]

Wait a minute! Langsdorff was ordered to scuttle the ship? I thought he decided this on his own and killed himself to prevent court martialing him and and his officers by his suicide and taking the responsibility for the scuttling

[gnorris]

Very historical and enjoyable. Thank you

[Womgi]

I kinda want the chieftain to narrate the entirety of ww2 as one endless stream of informative audio chocolate

[joypops]

I always had a soft spot for every Warship on the Great Seas.
But seriously I just want to listen to this man for hours, to try to feel the hearts and minds atop beautiful Steel with nerve-bending guns.