Deutschland's guns invited the wrong opponents

Deutschland's eleven-inch guns ensured that battlecruisers such as Hood, Renown, and Repulse would be assigned to hunt it. An eight-inch cruiser, in this argument, would be more likely to draw cruiser opposition. Pulling major enemy units away from a decisive area could have strategic value. That diversion only helps if the rest of the navy can exploit the forces drawn away. Germany lacked a sufficiently large fleet when these ships were designed, before Plan Z. The oversized battery therefore invited stronger hunters without a clear fleet-level benefit from the diversion.