After returning to service in August, "Nelson", "Rodney" and the battlecruiser were transferred from Scapa Flow to Rosyth, Scotland, in case of invasion. When the signal from the armed merchant cruiser that she was being attacked by the German heavy cruiser on 5 November was received by the Admiralty, "Nelson" and "Rodney" were deployed to block the gap between Iceland and the Faroe Islands, although "Admiral Scheer" headed for the South Atlantic afterwards. When the Admiralty learned that "Gneisenau" and "Scharnhorst" were attempting to breakout into the North Atlantic to resume commerce raiding operations, "Nelson", "Rodney" and the battlecruiser were ordered on 25 January 1941 to assume a position south of Iceland where they could intercept them. After spotting a pair of British cruisers on 28 January, the German ships turned away and were not pursued.