Closing to very short range with an intact battlecruiser is treated as a serious mistake. A light cruiser is clearly outmatched, and even a battleship may gain little from such an approach when both sides carry similarly powerful guns. At that distance, the shells strike with enough remaining velocity that armour offers far less of its intended advantage. The point connects tactical range choice directly to the protection assumptions built into capital-ship design.
Notable Point · 2:44:00-2:44:20
Why closing range can negate capital-ship armour
At very short range, equal-calibre heavy guns can overwhelm protection that would matter much more at normal battle distances.