Graf Spee Scuttled: Captain Chooses Destruction Over Surrender
Captain Hans Langsdorff scuttled the pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee in Montevideo harbor rather than face the Royal Navy warships waiting offshore, ending the first major naval chase of World War II. Three days later, Langsdorff shot himself in a Buenos Aires hotel room, wrapped in the Imperial German naval ensign.
December 13, 1939
87 years ago
What Else Happened on December 13
Johannes VIII. wird als Nachfolger von Hadrian II. zum Papst gewählt.
Robert Guiscard's forces force Salerno's surrender, shattering Norman control over southern Italy and leaving only the citadel under Duke Gisulf's stubborn defe…
An 85-year-old hermit who lived in a cave, ate roots, and hadn't seen Rome in decades became Pope in July 1294. Pietro del Morrone never wanted it. Cardinals ch…
en Segovia, Isabel la Católica es proclamada reina de Castilla.
en Portugal, Juan II es nombrado rey tras la muerte de su padre Alfonso V "el Africano".
The last priest arrived three years late. Paul III called the council in 1542, but wars between France and the Holy Roman Empire kept delaying it. When bishops …
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