Lindemann and Lütjens at this point differed on how best to continue the mission. Lindemann, as commander of a battleship, was guided by the tactical situation, and wanted to hunt down the damaged "Prince of Wales". (The Germans did not at that time know the ship to be "Prince of Wales", but knew that it was a battleship.) Lütjens, apparently mindful of the fleet order to avoid unnecessary contact with similar enemy units, rejected this without discussion. Lindemann and Lütjens also differed on where to take the ship for repairs; Lindemann advocated retracing their route through the Denmark Strait and returning to Bergen, Norway. Lütjens overruled him and ordered a course set for Saint-Nazaire, France. In the afternoon, Admiral Lütjens ordered "Prinz Eugen" to break away from "Bismarck" and operate independently against the enemy's merchant shipping. "Prinz Eugen" and "Bismarck" separated at 18:14 that evening. "Prinz Eugen" arrived safely at Brest, France on 1 June 1941. No direct witnesses to this difference of opinion survived the sinking, but "Matrosengefreiter" (Leading Seaman) Heinz Staat, the helmsman on the bridge, remembered a telephone call between the First Watch Officer, Commander Hans Oels, and a fleet staff officer which suggested that Lindemann had been trying to persuade Lütjens to pursue the enemy. A messenger returning to his comrades below spoke of ""dicke Luft"" ("thick air" or a "bad atmosphere") on the bridge.