Britain brought 332 heavy guns against 224 German weapons and also held the larger-calibre advantage. Germany needed technological superiority to offset numbers it could not match. British battlecruisers were intended for scouting, reconnaissance, and economic warfare. German battlecruisers had heavier armour partly because they might have to support an outnumbered battle line. In that interpretation of their role, they would delay enemy battleships while German battleships fought elsewhere, with no expectation that the battlecruisers would survive.
Notable Point · 2:24:38-2:27:01
The gun deficit behind German battlecruiser doctrine
Germany's smaller battle line forced its battlecruisers toward a sacrificial support role they were not expected to survive.