"Scharnhorst" and her five destroyers left port at around 19:00 and were in the open sea four hours later. At 03:19, Bey received instructions from the Fleet Command that "Scharnhorst" was to conduct the attack alone if heavy seas interfered with the destroyers' ability to fight. Unbeknown to the Germans, the British were reading the radio transmissions between "Scharnhorst" and the Fleet Command; Admirals Robert Burnett and Bruce Fraser were aware of Bey's plan for the attack on the convoy and could position their forces accordingly. At 07:03, "Scharnhorst" was some southwest of Bear Island when she made a turn that would put her in position to attack the convoy at 10:00. Admiral Burnett, commanding the three cruisers , , and escorting Convoy JW 55B, placed his ships between the convoy and "Scharnhorst"s expected direction of attack. Fraser in the powerful battleship , along with the cruiser and four destroyers, moved to a position southwest of "Scharnhorst" to block a possible escape attempt.