Graf Spee, << grahf shpay, >> was one of three German pocket battleships (swift, heavily armed cruisers) built under limitations imposed by the Treaty of Versailles. It sank nine British merchant ships in the fall of 1939. That December, three British warships fought and damaged the Graf Spee in the Battle of the River Plate. The German ship took refuge in the neutral port of Montevideo, Uruguay. International law required it to leave within a few days, before repairs could be completed. Expecting that British warships would capture the ship as soon as it reached international waters, its captain sank the Graf Spee. Efforts to raise the ship began in 2004.
