Despite their speed advantage, the Italian cruisers failed to outrun HMAS "Sydney" because they had to steer south-southwest, instead of the most obvious route of escape to the south, in order to avoid being trapped between the enemy and the shores of Crete. This gave the Australian cruiser the chance to close the range, as she did. The light armour of "Colleoni" and "Bande Nere" was unable to defeat "Sydney"´s rounds. The lack of aerial reconnaissance was another factor contributing to the successful Allies' chase.