Lütjens moved toward the Bay of Biscay while trying to divert British attention from Admiral Scheer's return route. His ships captured merchants, placed prize crews aboard some of them, and used supply vessels to shepherd other traffic toward the battleships. The 1,800-ton Chilean Reefer made smoke and returned fire. Suspecting a disguised cruiser, the Germans withdrew to a safer range and spent 73 main-battery rounds sinking her. During that attack, Gneisenau was operating slowly enough for HMS Rodney to appear over the horizon and begin closing. A later German account claimed that a signal identifying the raider as HMS Emerald caused hesitation and bought time. That story is rejected because British officers were unlikely to mistake a Scharnhorst-class battleship for the much smaller cruiser, while Rodney's own account describes a pursuit with gunfire. Gneisenau escaped, the raiders transferred prisoners, evaded further British forces, and completed the 59-day, 17,800-nautical-mile cruise at Brest.
Notable Point · 2:52:25-2:59:47
Prize-taking brought Gneisenau within reach of Rodney
Lütjens's late-cruise attacks and captures slowed the raiders until Rodney appeared, while a German claim that a false HMS Emerald identity bought time is treated skeptically.