Q&A · 3:29:31-3:31:38

If Hood and Bismarck destroy each other at Denmark Strait

A Denmark Strait counterfactual separates emotional catastrophe from the operational result of eliminating Germany's sortie.

Question

Would Hood's loss be accepted if Bismarck were mission-killed and Prinz Eugen crippled in the same battle?

Short answer

It would still be devastating, but the exchange would count as a British strategic victory; Prince of Wales and nearby cruisers and destroyers would continue until the disabled Bismarck sank.

Notes

The battle would be remembered as two giants mortally wounding one another rather than as a clean victory. Once Bismarck is unable to escape and Prinz Eugen is crippled, British gunfire and torpedoes can finish the action without the later ocean-wide chase. The answer also stresses how Prince of Wales's historical gun defects helped create the actual disengagement despite damage already inflicted on Bismarck.