Lindemann joined the German Imperial Navy () in 1913, and after his basic military training, served on a number of warships during World War I as a wireless telegraphy officer. On board , he participated in Operation Albion in 1917. After World War I, he served in various staff and naval gunnery training positions. One year after the outbreak of World War II, he was appointed commander of the battleship "Bismarck", at the time the largest warship in commission anywhere in the world and the pride of the "Kriegsmarine" (Nazi Germany's navy).