Torpedo-boat habits and fleet command

Born in 1889, Lutjens joined the German Navy at 18 and served for 34 years, yet the length of his career concealed important gaps in sea command. Lancelot Holland had commanded a destroyer, cruisers, a battleship, and several formations. Lutjens reached fleet command largely through torpedo craft and staff appointments. A torpedo officer learned to make rapid decisions on a knife edge and train a small crew to respond immediately. A capital-ship admiral had time to consult the flag captain and specialists and needed to bring them into the reasoning behind a decision. Lutjens retained the inward habits of small-craft command when he needed a collaborative command team. The mismatch became especially damaging because Ernst Lindemann preferred a different way of communicating, and the two never developed the sounding-board relationship required for Operation Rheinubung.