http://www.theage.com.au/national/hm...0812-ehsd.html
70 years after the sinking, the Australian government has released a report that places much of the blame on the captain. According to the report he was informed of all merchant ship movements in the area and should have known that the Kormoran couldn't have been a Dutch freighter.
I really hate to "armchair quarterback" a brave man who lost his life, but the report seems correct to me. In hindsight the decision to come so close to an unknown ship may not have been the best one. It's interesting to contrast the Sydney's last battle with the fight b/w the "Devonshire" and "Atlantis". In that battle the British cruiser stayed outside the Germans' range, transmitted a challenge at a distance, and opened fire when the enemy ship got it wrong.
No offence intended to Australian subsim visitors, BTW - just my opinion.