As commander of scouting forces, Lütjens entered the war responsible for German destroyers, torpedo boats, and light cruisers. His attack on Wicher and Gryf brought Leberecht Maass under shore-battery fire and forced him to transfer his flag to Wilhelm Heidkamp while the damaged flagship went for repair. The Luftwaffe destroyed the Polish ships later that day. A successful minelaying operation off the Humber followed, and Nürnberg became his flagship after his promotion to vice admiral. He had become a rear admiral in October 1937 and reached vice admiral around October 1939, after only a month of war. His experience remained concentrated in light forces.
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The Polish campaign exposed both Lütjens's limits and the Kriegsmarine's promotion problem
Lütjens damaged his flagship against Polish shore defenses, then completed a successful Humber minelaying mission and rose to vice admiral after only a month of war.