A different alliance and basing system gives the Deutschland class a new role. Access to the Falklands and Simon's Town would reduce the historical difficulty of sustaining German raiders far from home. Their speed is less troublesome against an American battle line without fast battleships, allowing them to screen slower British units and release Town-class cruisers for other work. The Omaha class provides one example of the older cruisers that might face this screen, with its gun layout compared to an age-of-sail broadside. The German ships' 11-inch guns, secondary battery, and torpedoes make them dangerous enough that an opponent must deal with them even though they remain vulnerable against heavier ships.
Notable Point · 33:13-37:19
Using Deutschland-class ships as a screening force
Within the proposed alliance, the Deutschland class becomes useful not as a match for fast capital ships but as a hard-to-ignore screen that protects slower units and releases faster cruisers.