Royal Air Force Fighter Command, 1939-1945

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

remained neutral for most of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. The policy of

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

Alfredo Baldomir Alfredo Baldomir Ferrari (August 27, 1884 – February 25, 1948) was a Uruguayan soldier, architect and politician. He served as President of Uruguay from 1938 to 1943 and is most notable for leading Uruguay to support the Allies during World W ...

, leading the Colorado Party, was to support the Allied cause, but from a neutral base.

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

retained considerable influence with the Baldomir regime, largely through the efforts of Sir Eugen Millington-Drake, who was the British Minister in Montevideo from 1934 to 1941. In January 1942, Baldomir terminated diplomatic relations with the

Axis powers The Axis powers, ; it, Potenze dell'Asse ; ja, 枢軸国 ''Sūjikukoku'', group=nb originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis, was a military coalition that initiated World War II and fought against the Allies. Its principal members were ...

. He resigned in 1943 and his neutrality policy was continued by his successor Juan José de Amézaga, also of the Colorado Party. In February 1945, having signed the

Declaration by United Nations The Declaration by United Nations was the main treaty that formalized the Allies of World War II and was signed by 47 national governments between 1942 and 1945. On 1 January 1942, during the Arcadia Conference, the Allied " Big Four"—the Unite ...

, Amézaga declared war on

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and Japan.

Pre-war German colonial plans

Before war broke out in Europe, the German government planned a coup and invasion of Uruguay to turn the country into a German colony. Supported by local Nazis and led by Arnulf Fuhrmann and run out of the German embassy in Montevideo, the plan never came to fruition, as its leadership was uncovered and arrested.

Baldomir's wartime policy

After the Second World War began, there was a considerable rise in European demand for Uruguay's key products such as meat, wool and leather. The country prospered and was able to shake off the impact of the Great Depression, especially as its manufacturing base expanded in response to the increased demand. President

adopted a pro-British stance although he insisted that Uruguay remained neutral militarily. His government had proposed nationalisation of certain foreign enterprises, mostly British, and Baldomir vetoed these as well as deliberately earmarking meat supplies for export to Great Britain.

''Admiral Graf Spee''

On 13 December 1939, the

Battle of the River Plate The Battle of the River Plate was fought in the South Atlantic on 13 December 1939 as the first naval battle of the Second World War. The Kriegsmarine heavy cruiser , commanded by Captain Hans Langsdorff, engaged a Royal Navy squadron, command ...

took place off the coast of Uruguay between a British

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

squadron and the German "

pocket battleship The ''Deutschland'' class was a series of three ''Panzerschiffe'' (armored ships), a form of heavily armed cruiser, built by the ''Reichsmarine'' officially in accordance with restrictions imposed by the Treaty of Versailles. The ships of the cl ...

" . All four vessels suffered damage and the ''Graf Spee'' took refuge in Montevideo harbour. Negotiations began about its status as an active belligerent taking shelter in a neutral country. Millington-Drake played a significant role, making full use of his influence with the Uruguayan government. After a 72-hour layover, the captain of ''Admiral Graf Spee'', having been led to believe that he was hopelessly outnumbered by British reinforcements, ordered the ship to be

scuttled Scuttling is the deliberate sinking of a ship. Scuttling may be performed to dispose of an abandoned, old, or captured vessel; to prevent the vessel from becoming a navigation hazard; as an act of self-destruction to prevent the ship from being ...

in the River Plate estuary. Most of the surviving crew of 1,150 were interned in Uruguay and Argentina and many remained after the war. A German Embassy official in Uruguay said his government had sent an official letter stating its claims to ownership of the salvage. Any such claim was already invalid because, early in 1940, the

Nazi government The government of Nazi Germany was totalitarian, run by the Nazi Party in Germany according to the Führerprinzip through the dictatorship of Adolf Hitler. Nazi Germany began with the fact that the Enabling Act was enacted to give Hitler's gover ...

had sold

salvaging rights Marine salvage is the process of recovering a ship and its cargo after a shipwreck or other maritime casualty. Salvage may encompass towing, re-floating a vessel, or effecting repairs to a ship. Today, protecting the coastal environment from s ...

to the vessel to a Uruguayan businessman who was acting on behalf of the British government but, in any event, salvaging rights would have expired under Uruguayan law. In June 1940, Germany threatened to break off diplomatic relations with Uruguay. Germany protested that Uruguay had given safe harbour to after it was attacked by a German raider. The ship was repaired with steel plate reportedly salvaged from ''Admiral Graf Spee''.

Declaration of war

On 25 January 1942, Uruguay terminated diplomatic relations with Nazi Germany, one of 21 South and Central American nations to do so (Argentina did not). In 1945, Uruguay formally signed the

and then finally declared war on Germany and Japan on 23 February 1945.

References

{{WWII history by nation Neutral states in World War II

Pre-war German colonial plans

Baldomir's wartime policy

''Admiral Graf Spee''

Declaration of war

See also

References