Lütjens belonged with destroyers and light forces

Günther Lütjens had built his career around destroyers and light forces, then saw much of that arm gutted during the Norwegian campaign and the battles around Narvik. He had also coordinated Scharnhorst and Gneisenau during the Norwegian operations. Rebuilding German destroyer and escort forces would have used this experience better than rewarding him with battleship command. Planning Sea Lion or directing light operations in the Baltic or Black Sea offered other plausible assignments. Dramatized portrayals of Lütjens aboard Bismarck are unreliable evidence because surviving accounts of the final pursuit differ sharply.