A sortie made up only of Bismarck and Prinz Eugen did not clearly require an admiral. Meaningful coordination with U-boat wolf packs would have forced the surface ships to slow down or transmit information that could expose them to the Royal Navy. Lütjens's admiral rank made him accountable to headquarters and responsible for coordinating forces beyond his own ship. Hans Langsdorff, serving as a captain, had greater freedom to behave as though Admiral Graf Spee were operating alone. Putting an admiral aboard turned the small sortie into a flagship operation whose communications obligations worked against concealment.
Notable Point · 38:29-40:03
Why an admiral aboard Bismarck created command risk
Admiral-level accountability encouraged communications that worked against the secrecy needed by Bismarck and Prinz Eugen.