New Zealand’s first battle in World War II
Evening Post Photographer, Crowds welcoming the crew of HMS Achilles on Lambton Quay, Wellington, 1940, Black and white original negative, Photographic Archive, Reference: 1/4-049251-F
New Zealand’s first battle in World War II
December 2009 marks the 70th anniversary of the Battle of the River Plate, the first major naval battle in World War II. In this battle the HMS Achilles became the first New Zealand military unit to strike a blow at the enemy in the War. The 82-minute engagement with the German Admiral Graf Spee battleship took place at 6:21am on 13 December 1939.
The Achilles joined her sister ship, the HMS Ajax and a larger British cruiser HMS Exeter in the fight. Although the Achilles did not suffer a direct hit, she took some damage from shrapnel in a near miss: four crew were killed (including two New Zealanders), and her captain, W. E. Parry was injured.
All four ships were damaged, with the British ships suffering 72 fatalities to the Graf Spee's 36. But the German warship's subsequent withdrawal to the neutral Uruguayan port of Montevideo, and its dramatic scuttling by its own crew on 17 December, turned the Battle of the River Plate into a major British victory – and a welcome morale boost for the Allied cause.
Achilles' role in the battle was a special source of pride for New Zealanders, who welcomed the ship's crew home at huge parades in Auckland and Wellington in early 1940.
The Library has manuscripts, logs and images of the HMS Achilles in the collections. You can search for them on TAPHUI and Find.
See this image in our collections – Timeframes website
Listen to the Radio New Zealand report on the 70th anniversary of the Battle of the River Plate
New Zealand History online’s article about the Battle of the River Plate
Wikipedia article about the Battle of the River Plate
Permission of the National Library of New Zealand Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa must be obtained before any reuse of this image
