Damaged German capital ships create a retreat problem

The three historical fifteen-inch hits on SMS Markgraf show how proper bursts could turn repairable damage into a crippling loss of speed. Such a ship might be worse than one sunk outright because it would need escort, restrict the fleet's movement, and offer the British an isolated target. A withdrawal at ten or eleven knots creates a daylight analogue to the disabled-cruiser problem at Cape Matapan, with Jellicoe able to manoeuvre around a known slow formation. Detaching protection would divide Scheer's force and invite defeat in detail, while keeping the fleet together would slow every ship. The German options narrow to escorting the cripple, abandoning it, or removing the crew and scuttling a valuable battleship.