HMS Glasgow's contact with Admiral Scheer could summon a much larger counter-raider force. Hermes, Manchester, Cape Town, Emerald, Hawkins, Shropshire, and Canberra collectively offered aircraft, guns, and torpedoes. The danger resembled a much stronger version of the force that trapped Graf Spee after the River Plate. Scheer's limited speed made immediate withdrawal safer than waiting for the scattered Allied ships to concentrate.
Notable Point · 35:17-36:46
Why Admiral Scheer avoided the counter-raider force
Glasgow's contact threatened to bring Hermes and a powerful group of British and Australian cruisers against a raider too slow to risk encirclement.