The goal of Operation Rheinübung (Rhine Exercise) was for "Bismarck" and the heavy cruiser —under the command of Lindemann's "Crew 1913" classmate Captain Helmuth Brinkmann—to break into the Atlantic and attack Allied shipping. Grand Admiral Raeder's orders to the task force commander—Admiral Günther Lütjens—were that "the objective of the "Bismarck" is not to defeat enemies of equal strength, but to tie them down in a delaying action, while preserving combat capacity as much as possible, so as to allow "Prinz Eugen" to get at the merchant ships in the convoy" and "The primary target in this operation is the enemy's merchant shipping; enemy warships will be engaged only when that objective makes it necessary and it can be done without excessive risk."