Much of the controversy surrounding the battle stemmed from disbelief that a modified merchant ship could totally defeat a modern cruiser, with most theories describing how the Germans deceitfully gained the advantage. However, the two ships' armament was closer to equal than this matchup implied, and although "Sydney" normally had the advantage of armour plate and superior range, these were lost by closing with "Kormoran". The proximity meant that the advantage would go to the ship that fired first; while Burnett likely assumed that "Sydney" was dealing with a merchantman, Detmers was ready for "Kormoran" to surprise the cruiser, and the raider's gun crew knew where to aim for maximum effectiveness.