The German Pocket Battleships in World War Two

Looking for a definition of and more information about German pocket battleships? These were a group of three vessels - the Graf Spee, the Lutzow (formerly Deutschland), and the Admiral Scheer - constructed under the auspices of the Versailles Treaty as small capital ships capable of conducting independent anti-shipping patrols in the Atlantic Ocean. Constructed with the experience of the German Navy in World War 1 in mind, the pocket battleships of the Deutschland class were meant to avoid contact with more powerful vessels but be able to overpower most convoy escorts and destroy the shipping that was Britain's lifeblood in the early twentieth century.