On this day in military history....in 1939 and 1944

On this day in military history....in 1939. The Germans scuttle the pocket battleship, Admiral Graf Spee off Montevideo, Uruguay. The Graf Spee had fled to the neutral port of Montevideo to escape the pursuing British forces after the Battle of the River Platte. With more British forces arriving every day and being forced out of the port, the Germans scuttled the Graf Spee in Montevideo harbor to keep it from being sunk or falling into British hands.

On this day in military history....in 1944. Elements of a German SS unit massacre between 72-84 American POWs at Malmedy, Belgium. After the reports of the massacre surfaced, American units were told to take no more SS prisoners of war (most famously by General George Patton).