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Kaiserin Augusta and Seeadler

Starting in the 1880s, a series of cruisers was built by the German Kaiserliche Marine (Imperial Navy). The first designs – protected and unprotected – were ordered to replace aging sail and steam-powered frigates and corvettes that were of minimal combat value. After several iterations of each type, these cruisers were developed into armored and light cruisers, respectively, over the following decade. All of these ships were built to fill a variety of roles, including scouts for the main battle fleet and colonial cruisers for Germany's overseas empire. The protected and unprotected cruisers had been withdrawn from active service by the 1910s, though some continued on in secondary roles. Most of the armored and light cruisers saw action in World War I, in all of the major theaters of the conflict. Their service ranged from commerce raiding patrols on the open ocean to the fleet engagements in the North Sea such as the Battle of Jutland. Many of the ships were sunk in the course of the war, and the majority of the remaining vessels were either seized as war prizes by the victorious Allies, scuttled by their crews at Scapa Flow in 1919, or broken up for scrap. (This list is part of a featured topic: Cruisers of Germany.)