By 1 September Graf Spee was already far into the passage toward a South Atlantic waiting area, but she still needed days to reach station. Langsdorff had to plan for a return through waters the Royal Navy was beginning to close. Before the fall of France there were no friendly French Atlantic ports, so the route home led back toward the Channel or farther north near Norway. He therefore needed to preserve the ship for a difficult homeward voyage as well as the raiding campaign. By 8 September Graf Spee had spent about 20 days at sea without reaching her waiting area, partly because she avoided major shipping lanes. Radio silence denied British listeners a chance to locate her transmissions even if they could not read the messages.
Chapter · 4:05-9:29
Graf Spee's silent passage frustrates the British search
Graf Spee's long, covert passage protected her from detection while leaving Langsdorff responsible for preserving a difficult route home.