BATTLE OF THE RIVER PLATE
The Battle of the River Plate was the first naval battle in the Second World War and the only episode of the war to take place in South America. The German cruiser Admiral Graf Spee had been located in the South Atlantic a long time before the war began, and was ready to commence raiding after the war began in September 1939. One of the hunting groups sent by the British Admiralty to search for Graf Spee, comprising three Royal Navy (RN) cruisers, HMS Exeter, HMS Ajax and HMNZS Achilles, found and engaged their quarry off the estuary of the River Plate close to the coast of Argentina and Uruguay in South America.
In the ensuing battle, Exeter was severely damaged and forced to retire; Ajax and Achilles suffered moderate damage. The damage to Graf Spee, although not extensive, was critical; her fuel system was crippled. Ajax and Achilles shadowed the German ship until she entered the port of Montevideo, the capital city of neutral Uruguay, to effect urgent repairs.
After Graf Spee's captain Hans Lansdorff was told that his stay could not be extended beyond 72 hours, he scuttled his damaged ship rather than face the overwhelmingly superior force that the British had led him to believe was awaiting his departure. In 1941 a section of farmland in the present day Town of Ajax was set aside to as the site of Defence Industries Limited (D.I.L.), Pickering Works. A competition among DIL employees resulted in the name Ajax being chosen, in honour HMS Ajax.
This cache is at the posted coordinates. Inside you will find a stamp and a stamp pad. Please do not remove these items. There is also a clue you will need to find the final puzzle cache in the Victory at Sea series.
While you are in the area, take a few minutes to walk around and explore the Battle of the River Plate memorial. Another excellent cache located at this location is GC35KA1 - Ocean Warrior multi cache.