At about 04:00, "Mogami" and then "Yamashiro" turned to retreat, both burning; the destroyer fled with them, though she had not suffered any serious damage. Shortly thereafter, Oldendorf ordered his battleships to make a 150-degree turn, and "West Virginia" complied at 04:02, leading the other battleships on the new course, which ran parallel to "Yamashiro"s line of retreat. Confusion aboard "California" led her to fall out of position, and in so doing, mask the rest of the battleships and force them to cease firing to avoid hitting her. Shortly thereafter, reports of Japanese torpedoes in the water prompted the American battleships to turn to the north at 04:18 to avoid them. This marked the end of the action, as the remaining Japanese ships retreated in the darkness. In the course of the action, "West Virginia" fired sixteen salvos at the Japanese ships; this proved to be the last ever battle between battleships.