Operation Berlin followed several disrupted attempts to employ Scharnhorst and Gneisenau in the Atlantic. Their encounter with Rawalpindi in November 1939 sent them back, while HMS Clyde's June 1940 torpedo hit on Gneisenau imposed roughly a six-month delay; the Norwegian campaign added further demands. Clyde had intended to sink rather than merely damage Gneisenau, and a successful kill would have left Scharnhorst operating alone. Although Scharnhorst had a heavy belt, her 11-inch battery still could not make a single-ship attack on an R-class-protected convoy attractive. The episode shows how damage to one scarce capital ship could reshape German options for months.
Chapter · 1:12:09-1:15:54
Earlier encounters repeatedly postponed the Atlantic sortie
Rawalpindi, HMS Clyde, and the Norwegian campaign delayed the German pair, while Clyde's torpedo hit kept Gneisenau out for roughly six months.