Precision destroyer fire versus Vanguard's area effect

How small a target could Vanguard have engaged during a landing?

Destroyers would handle close, responsive fire; Vanguard's strength would be heavy area bombardment against prepared positions.

Smaller naval guns adjust quickly, while a battleship salvo delivers destruction on a different scale. Destroyers and frigates can answer close-support calls quickly and shift fire as troops advance. Vanguard's fifteen-inch guns would instead be used against mapped defensive areas before or during an assault. A battleship could saturate a grid square or prepared position that single 4.5-inch mounts had to attack with many more rounds. That division of labour preserves precision weapons for responsive tasks while exploiting heavy shells for suppression and area effect. A battleship's value did not depend on hitting the smallest possible target.