This clash between the two senior German officers reflected their disparate and distinct command functions. As captain of "Bismarck", Lindemann operated first and foremost as a tactician. As such, he had no doubt that his ship's immediate objective was to destroy "Prince of Wales", and he had pressed his case as far and hard as he should. Lütjens, as fleet chief and task force commander, operated at the strategic and operational levels. To some degree, his orders were clear – attacking convoys was his priority, not risking "a major engagement for limited, and perhaps uncertain, goals". Nevertheless, Raeder had also ordered Lütjens to be bold and imaginative, to accept battle if unavoidable and conduct it vigorously to the finish.