Altmark and Admiral Graf Spee met for the last time roughly a week before the Battle of the River Plate and eleven days before the raider's end. The rendezvous places the cruise in its final phase and marks the end of the direct connection between the ships. German communities in South America could supply observers, but they could not provide the dependable material support the raider needed. Altmark was another piece of sovereign German territory at sea and a reliable link to Germany. Local contacts could not replace that logistical connection.
Notable Point · 1:36-2:57
The last Altmark and Graf Spee rendezvous
The final rendezvous came about a week before the Battle of the River Plate and shows why Altmark was Graf Spee's most dependable German support in the South Atlantic.