Germany's Jutland order of battle exposed a force-structure gap

Germany had sacrificed cruiser and larger-destroyer construction to fund dreadnoughts, yet still lacked enough dreadnoughts to match Britain. The Deutschland class consequently sailed with the High Seas Fleet at Jutland despite a top speed of about 19 knots and an armament of four 11-inch guns. Britain's Lord Nelson and Agamemnon were older battleships useful enough to constrain Goeben in the Mediterranean but were not needed in the Grand Fleet's main line. The contrast was more than a matter of ship-for-ship quality: Britain's reserve depth let it use older units in secondary theatres, whereas Germany used them to fill a numerical hole in its principal battle fleet. Germany was also trying to challenge a global maritime power while its economy depended on vulnerable sea lines of communication. Budget choices, supporting-ship shortages, and reserve weakness shaped the fleet Germany could assemble.