The Admiral Graf Spee was a German cruiser of the Deutschland class, commonly referred to as the "pocket battleships" because of their large guns and small size. They were designed to comply with the Treaty of Versailles, which limited the naval power of Germany after World War I. The Admiral Graf Spee was the most advanced and heavily armoured of the class, and had a brief but successful career in World War II, sinking nine merchant ships in the Atlantic Ocean. However, she was cornered by a British task force at the River Plate, where she fought a fierce but inconclusive battle. She then sailed to Montevideo, where she was scuttled by her own crew to avoid capture.

Introduced in Update 1.95 "Northern Wind", the Admiral Graf Spee lives up to her "pocket battleship" moniker thanks to her slow but hard-hitting firepower. The Graf Spee primarily excels at long range engagements, capable of out-ranging any other cruiser at her rank. Her protection, while nowhere close to an actual battleship's, is sufficient to take a considerable amount of damage, especially at longer ranges.