Wilhelm Marschall brought submarine, cruiser, and capital-ship command experience to the Norwegian operation. He had commanded Scharnhorst and Gneisenau when they encountered Rawalpindi in November 1939, an action sometimes mistakenly assigned to Lütjens. Lütjens was originally supposed to serve as the second admiral and support him. Marschall's illness instead placed Lütjens in charge of Scharnhorst, Gneisenau, and the wider covering operation. He began developing a productive relationship with Gneisenau's captain, his first flag captain aboard a major warship. The destroyers bound for Narvik were also under him. Lütjens now had to coordinate familiar destroyer forces while directly commanding Germany's two capital ships.
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Marschall's illness put Lütjens into an unfamiliar capital-ship command
Lütjens was meant to support the more experienced Wilhelm Marschall, but illness left him commanding Germany's two capital ships and the Narvik covering force.