 Ramba uchiverenga ndima iyi - Zvirongwa zvakaitwa kuti Lütjens atungamirire Operation Rheinübung, achitora ngarava dzose dzehondo dzechiGermany dzemazuva ano uye ngarava dzehondo - Bismarck, Scharnhorst uye Gneisenau - pakurwisa muAtlantic. Nokuda kwezvikonzero zvakasiyana-siyana, Tirpitz uye maviri hondo cruisers aisagona kuitwa vakagadzirira kuti oparesheni, saka mberi chete Bismarck uye rinorema cruiser, pasi pehutungamiri Helmuth Brinkmann. Kugadzirira uye kushanda mirayiridzo vakanga rakagadzirirwa ne Marinegruppenkommando West, pasi pehutungamiri hwe Generaladmiral Saalwächter uye Marinegruppenkommando Ost, pasi pehutungamiri hwe Generaladmiral Rolf Carls. Musi wa 8 April 1941, Lütjens akasangana naAdmiral Dönitz muParis. Dönitz akaita kuongorora kunotevera kwechirongwa chacho: 