Arbuthnot's route through the Grand Fleet

If ships cannot always be used exactly as designed, how should the armored-cruiser losses at Jutland be judged?

Arbuthnot chose the engaged side of the Grand Fleet when repositioning, exposing his cruisers to German fire and masking British battleship guns; the result was principally a command failure.

The armoured cruisers had to change station as the fleet maneuvered, but they could have passed down the unengaged side. Instead, Arbuthnot crossed where smoke interfered with the Grand Fleet's fire while leaving his own ships visible to the Germans. German ships could engage the cruisers while British battleships lost a clear line of sight. In this assessment, the available alternative route makes the losses a command failure.