Altmark Last Meeting with the Admiral Graf Spee - A River Plate 80 Video

Altmark took about 140 captured merchant sailors while their officers went aboard Admiral Graf Spee, removing the crews' command structure and reducing the risk of escape.

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.

A warship projects force across the world, while auxiliaries and merchant shipping provide the supplies and transport that let it remain there.

Altmark's example becomes a force-structure lesson: an effective force needs enough combat strength to fight and enough supporting capacity to stay supplied.

With Altmark as its only supply ship, Graf Spee sustained four months of offensive operations during roughly five months deployed. That endurance deserves consideration separately from the damage the raider inflicted.