It was the base of the South Atlantic Squadron and warships were sometimes stationed there. In December 1939 Commodore Harwoods forces were stationed there during the hunt for the Admiral Graf Spee but with little threat from surface ships other than commerce raiders disguised as merchant ships the presence was often reduced to an armed merchant cruiser. 2000 garrison troops were stationed there in 1942 but it was to defend the island against any possible Japanese incursion. This suggests there were few troops in 1940