Editing Cruiser (section)

===1939 to Pearl Harbor===
In December 1939, three British cruisers engaged the [[German cruiser Admiral Graf Spee|German "pocket battleship" ''Admiral Graf Spee'']] (which was on a commerce raiding mission) in the [[Battle of the River Plate]]; [[German cruiser Admiral Graf Spee]] then took refuge in neutral [[Montevideo]], [[Uruguay]]. By broadcasting messages indicating capital ships were in the area, the British caused ''Admiral Graf Spee''{{'}}s captain to think he faced a hopeless situation while low on ammunition and order his ship scuttled.<ref>Churchill 1948, pp. 525–526</ref> On 8 June 1940 the German capital ships {{ship|German battleship|Scharnhorst||2}} and {{ship|German battleship|Gneisenau||2}}, classed as battleships but with large cruiser armament, sank the aircraft carrier {{HMS|Glorious}} with gunfire.<ref>Howland, p. 52</ref> From October 1940 through March 1941 the German heavy cruiser (also known as "pocket battleship", see above) {{ship|German cruiser|Admiral Scheer||2}} conducted a successful commerce-raiding voyage in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans.<ref>Rohwer, pp. 48–65</ref>

On 27 May 1941, {{HMS|Dorsetshire|40|6}} attempted to finish off the German battleship {{ship|German battleship|Bismarck||2}} with torpedoes, probably causing the Germans to scuttle the ship.<ref>Kennedy, p. 204</ref> ''Bismarck'' (accompanied by the heavy cruiser {{ship|German cruiser|Prinz Eugen||2}}) previously sank the battlecruiser {{HMS|Hood}} and damaged the battleship {{HMS|Prince of Wales|53|6}} with gunfire in the [[Battle of the Denmark Strait]].<ref>Kennedy, p. 45</ref>

On 19 November 1941 {{HMAS|Sydney|D48|6}} sank in a mutually fatal [[Sinking of HMAS Sydney|engagement with the German raider ''Kormoran'']] in the Indian Ocean near Western Australia.