Closing range in a night battle

British night-fighting practice favoured approaching with guns already trained, closing as far as possible, and withholding fire until the enemy was about to react. At very short range even destroyer-calibre guns could threaten parts of a battleship, while the first salvo could arrive before the target understood the situation. Cunningham's training stressed this approach, while Duke of York closed Scharnhorst at North Cape until its secondary guns could engage. Japanese long-range torpedo ambushes offered a different approach, one that could be devastating when an opponent continued along a predictable course.