A damaged scouting force could change Scheer's decision

The scenario imagines the High Seas Fleet arriving after the First Scouting Group has been reduced to one or two capital ships remaining in the fight, or possibly none. Under those conditions, Scheer would probably withdraw. A British force making 27-28 knots could escape before the slower German battle fleet caught it. If the British instead maintained a speed just low enough to preserve contact, that deliberate restraint would warn of an attempt to lead the pursuers toward Jellicoe. The judgment assumes Scheer would recognize that danger. The scale of the scouting-force losses and his eventual decision remain counterfactual outcomes.