Where a Deutschland class belongs in a fleet action

Where would the Deutschland class be used in a fleet action?

The answer depends on which class is meant: the interwar heavy cruisers should avoid the battle line, while the older German pre-dreadnoughts could stand at its rear to add gunfire.

The interwar Deutschland-class cruisers were slow for cruiser work and insufficiently protected for a capital-ship line, so a commander would try to keep them away from the heaviest exchange. They could fill a gap only when no better unit was available. The earlier Deutschland-class pre-dreadnought battleships present the opposite historical problem: by the First World War they were obsolete but could still add guns from the rear of a formation. Their limited speed and vulnerability made them supplementary firepower rather than ships around which the line should maneuver.