Admiral Graf Spee had been at sea at the start of the Second World War in September 1939, and had sunk several merchantmen in the Indian Ocean and South Atlantic Ocean without loss of life, due to her captain's policy of taking all crews on board before sinking the victim.
O Graf Spee estivera no mar dende o comezo da Segunda Guerra Mundial en setembro de 1939, e afundira varios barcos mercantes no océano Índico e Atlántico Sursen perda de vidas, debido á política do seu capitán de recoller todas as tripulacións despois de afundir os barcos.