Did German battlecruisers point toward fast battleships?

British battlecruisers were meant to avoid the battle line, while German designs were intended to support it. Their second-line battleship duty means the German design lineage may sit closer to the later fast-battleship concept. That does not automatically make every German battlecruiser a fast battleship, but it makes the classification question more substantial than it is for G3. Identical type labels can conceal different national doctrines and internal design priorities. Intended service provides a more precise basis for evaluating these categories than armor figures alone.