If Seydlitz is sunk, Admiral Franz von Hipper may die with her only months after Maximilian von Spee is lost at Coronel. Germany would then lose two of its most experienced senior officers in cruiser warfare before the decisive 1916 campaign. The historical Seydlitz survived Dogger Bank and exposed dangerous magazine and ammunition-handling practices that the High Seas Fleet could correct. In this counterfactual, that lesson may vanish with the ship, while a heavily damaged British survivor could instead give the Royal Navy its own warning.
Notable Point · 1:22:48-1:25:47
Dogger Bank could remove both German leaders and safety lessons
Losing Admiral Hipper and Seydlitz would deprive Germany of experienced cruiser command and the damage evidence that historically prompted safer ammunition handling before Jutland.