World War II by country warships and the German ship "Admiral Graf Spee" fought the Battle of the River Plate in the zone. This prompted a joint protest from several Latin American nations to both sides. ("Admiral Graf Spee" took refuge in Uruguay's capital, Montevideo, claiming sanctuary in a neutral port, but was later ordered out.) In early 1942, President Baldomir broke off diplomatic relations with the Axis Powers. On 15 February 1945, near the end of the war, Uruguay dropped its neutrality and joined the Allies. Uzbekistan was part of the Soviet Union during World War II. So see this article's section on the
American Theater (World War II) smaller states. The best known events in North America during World War II were the Aleutian Islands Campaign, the Battle of the St. Lawrence, and the attacks on Newfoundland. The first naval battle during the war was fought on December 13, 1939, off the Atlantic coast of South America. The German "pocket battleship" (acting as a commerce raider) encountered one of the British naval units searching for her. Composed of three Royal Navy cruisers, , , and , the unit was patrolling off the River Plate estuary of Argentina and Uruguay. In a bloody engagement, "Admiral Graf Spee" successfully repulsed