Once the counterfactual fleet enters action, automatic control closes the British 18-inch-gun battlecruiser to roughly 6.6 kilometres. At that distance armour and speed no longer compensate for exposure to battleship-calibre fire, and even the secondary batteries are in range. The German force concentrates on Courageous while the British battleship remains farther away, and the battlecruiser is sunk. Battlecruiser effectiveness depends on preserving tactical choices instead of fighting as a short-range battleship.
Notable Point · 1:05:22-1:10:07
Close range erases a battlecruiser's choices
A simulated Denmark Strait-style action shows why a battlecruiser should not accept battleship fire at ranges where even its secondary guns can engage.