Italian withdrawal and the Otranto trap

The British cruiser force attacked a convoy in the Strait of Otranto while the Mediterranean Fleet waited farther south. The convoy's calls for help were intended to draw the damaged but still substantial Italian fleet to sea. Had three Italian battleships answered, Cunningham could have met them with four battleships, a carrier, cruisers, and destroyers. Italian commanders recognized the danger and refused the emotional demand for an immediate counterstroke. Their restraint denied the Royal Navy the decisive surface engagement that Operation Judgment and the Otranto action were positioned to create.