The battle's tactical result is constrained by stores as much as by damage. Four of the seven British ships have exhausted their 16-inch ammunition, leaving only Valiant, Agamemnon and Albion able to continue main-battery fire. The three surviving Japanese ships still carry ammunition but are damaged and withdrawing from a numerically superior force. Closing to six-inch and torpedo range in the hope of a total kill would expose ships without heavy ammunition to needless risk. Disengagement is therefore the realistic operational end state even though the game allows the fight to continue.
Notable Point · 44:00-48:00
Ammunition limits end the simulated action
After most British ships expend their 16-inch ammunition, the likely historical result is disengagement rather than a reckless close-range pursuit.