Blücher sat awkwardly in Hipper's battlecruiser line because German planners expected Britain to build an all-big-gun development of the existing armored cruiser. The Royal Navy instead created much larger ships carrying battleship-caliber guns on fast cruiser-derived hulls. Blücher consequently lacked the speed and firepower of the British battlecruisers she faced. Her presence at the rear of Hipper's formation made her the natural ship to fall behind and absorb concentrated fire. The watch point shows how mistaken intelligence about a rival's design direction can produce a ship that is obsolete on arrival.
Notable Point · 3:16:39-3:17:26
Why Blücher was not a true battlecruiser
German expectations about Britain's new armored cruisers left Blücher outclassed when the Royal Navy instead mounted battleship guns on enlarged cruiser hulls.