Starting in the 1880s, the German (Imperial Navy) began building a series of cruisers. 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. They were built to fill a variety of roles, including scouts for the main battle fleet and colonial cruisers for Germany's overseas empire. The armored cruisers in turn led to the first German battlecruiser, .
The protected and unprotected cruisers had been withdrawn from active service by the 1910s, though some continued in secondary roles.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 were sunk in the course of the war, and the majority of the remainder were either seized as war prizes by the victorious Allies, scuttled by their crews in Scapa Flow in 1919, or broken up for scrap. The Treaty of Versailles forced Germany to surrender most of its remaining vessels. Only six old pre-dreadnought battleships and six old light cruisers could be kept on active duty. These ships could be replaced when they reached twenty years of age, and the cruisers were limited to a displacement of .See: Treaty of Versailles Section II: Naval Clauses, Articles 181 and 190
In the 1920s, Germany began a modest program to rebuild its fleet, now renamed the . It began with the new light cruiser, , in 1921, followed by five more light cruisers and three new heavy cruisers, the . A further five heavy cruisers—the —were ordered in the mid-1930s, though only the first three were completed. At the same time, the German navy was renamed the . Plan Z, a more ambitious reconstruction program that called for twelve P-class cruisers, was approved in early 1939 but was cancelled before the end of the year following the outbreak of World War II. Of the six heavy cruisers and six light cruisers that were finished, only two survived the war. One, , was sunk following nuclear weapons tests during Operation Crossroads in 1946; the other, , saw service in the Soviet Navy until she was scrapped around 1960.
+ Key Armament The number and type of the primary armament Armor The thickness of the deck or belt armor Displacement Ship displacement at full combat load Propulsion Number of shafts, type of propulsion system, and top speed generated Cost Cost of the ship's construction Service The dates work began and finished on the ship and its ultimate fate Laid down The date the keel began to be assembled Commissioned The date the ship was commissioned
Protected cruisers
Starting in the mid-1880s, the German Navy began to modernize its cruising force, which at that time relied on a mixed collection of sail and steam frigates and corvettes. General Leo von Caprivi, then the Chief of the (Imperial Navy), ordered several new warships, including two s laid down in 1886, the first protected cruisers to be built in Germany. Design work on their successor, , began the following year, though she was not laid down until 1890. Five more ships of the followed in the mid-1890s. These ships, the last protected cruisers built in Germany, provided the basis for the armored cruisers that were built starting at the end of the decade. All of these ships were intended to serve both as fleet scouts and overseas cruisers, since Germany's limited naval budget prevented development of ships optimized for each task.
Most of the German protected cruisers served on overseas stations throughout their careers, primarily in the East Asia Squadron in the 1890s and 1900s. participated in the seizure of the Jiaozhou Bay Leased Territory in November 1897, which was used as the primary base for the East Asia Squadron. , , and assisted in the suppression of the Boxer Uprising in China in 1900, and saw action during the Venezuelan crisis of 1902–03, where she bombarded several Venezuelan fortresses. , , and were relegated to secondary duties in the 1910s, while the class was used to train naval cadets in the 1900s. All eight ships were broken up for scrap in the early 1920s.
Ship Armament Armor Displacement Propulsion Service Laid down Commissioned Fate 4 × 15 cm K L/30 guns10 × 15 cm K L/22 2 shafts, 2 reciprocating engines, 1886 25 May 1888 Scrapped, 1922 13 November 1889 Scrapped, 1922 12 × 15 cm SK L/35 guns 3 shafts, 3 triple-expansion engines, 1890 17 November 1892 Scrapped, 1920 2 × 21 cm SK L/40 guns8 × 15 cm SK L/40 guns 3 shafts, triple-expansion engines, 1895 20 February 1899 Scrapped, 1923 23 July 1898 Scrapped, 1920 20 October 1898 Scrapped, 1921 3 shafts, triple-expansion engines, 1896 13 September 1899 Scrapped, 1920 20 April 1899 Scrapped, 1920
Unprotected cruisers
At the same time that Caprivi began ordering new protected cruisers, he also authorized the construction of smaller unprotected cruisers for use in Germany's overseas colonies. The first of these, the , were laid down in 1886 and 1887. A further six vessels of the , which were improved versions that were larger and faster than their predecessors, followed over the next five years. A final, much larger vessel, , was laid down in 1892; her design was based on contemporary protected cruisers like . She represented another attempt to merge the colonial cruiser and fleet scout, which was unsuccessful. As a result, the German naval designers began work on the , which provided the basis for all future German light cruisers.
All nine cruisers served extensively in Germany's colonies, particularly in Africa and Asia. They participated in the suppression of numerous rebellions, including the Abushiri Revolt in German East Africa in 1889–1890, the Boxer Uprising in China in 1900–1901, and the Sokehs Rebellion in the Caroline Islands in 1911. Most of the ships had been recalled to Germany and decommissioned by the early 1910s, having been replaced by the newer light cruisers. and were scrapped in 1912, but the rest continued on in secondary roles. Of the remaining seven ships, only and remained abroad at the start of World War I in August 1914. was stationed in Qingdao, but her engines were worn out, so she was scuttled to prevent her capture. briefly operated against British shipping in the Pacific before running low on coal. She put into Hawaii, where she was interned by the US Navy. After the United States declared war on Germany in April 1917, she was seized and commissioned into American service as USS Schurz, though she was accidentally sunk in a collision in June 1918. , employed as a mine storage hulk in Wilhelmshaven during the war, was destroyed by an accidental explosion in 1917. , , and were all broken up for scrap in the early 1920s, while was briefly used as a freighter, before she too was scrapped, in 1923.
Ship Armament Armor Displacement Propulsion Service Laid down Commissioned Fate 8 × 10.5 cm K L/35 guns — 2 × 2-cylinder double-expansion steam engines, April 1886 8 May 1888 Scrapped, 1922 September 1887 2 April 1889 Scrapped, 1922 8 × 10.5 cm K L/35 guns — 2 × 2-cylinder double-expansion steam engines, 1888 7 October 1890 Scrapped, 1913 8 × 10.5 cm SK L/35 guns 1890 14 September 1891 Scrapped, 1913 1890 17 August 1892 Destroyed, 1917 1891 9 December 1892 Scrapped, 1921 1890 25 July 1893 Scuttled, 28 September 1914 1893 24 October 1895 Captured, 6 April 1917, sunk 21 June 1918 10 × 10.5 cm SK L/35 guns 25 mm 2 × 3-cylinder triple expansion engines, 1892 5 June 1895 Converted to freighter, 1920, scrapped 1923
Armored cruisers
The first armored cruiser, , was ordered shortly after the class of protected cruisers. was an improved version of the earlier type, with heavier armament, more extensive armor protection, and a significantly greater size. A further seven units, divided between four different designs, followed over the next ten years; each design provided incremental improvements over earlier vessels. A ninth armored cruiser, , was a much larger vessel representing an intermediate step between armored cruisers and battlecruisers. Indeed, her design had been influenced by the misinformation Britain had released about its s, which were then under construction. Once the characteristics of the new ships were revealed, Germany began building battlecruisers in response.
Germany's armored cruisers served in a variety of roles, including overseas as flagships of the East Asia Squadron, and in the fleet reconnaissance forces. All of them, save , saw action during World War I in a variety of theaters. served with the battlecruisers in the I Scouting Group and was sunk at the Battle of Dogger Bank in 1915, and the two s formed the core of Maximilian von Spee's squadron that defeated the British at the Battle of Coronel in November 1914 before being annihilated at the Battle of the Falkland Islands. was accidentally sunk by a German mine in November 1914 outside Wilhelmshaven, and the two s were sunk in the Baltic Sea. Only and survived the war; both were scrapped in the early 1920s.
Ship Armament Armor Displacement Propulsion Service Laid down Commissioned Fate 4 × SK L/40 10 × SK L/40 guns 3 screws, triple expansion engines, 1896 1 April 1900 Broken up for scrap in 1919–1920 2 × SK L/40 10 × SK L/40 guns 3 screws, triple expansion engines, 1898 11 March 1902 Broken up for scrap in 1920 4 × SK L/40 10 × SK L/40 guns 3 screws, triple expansion engines, 1900 12 January 1904 Sunk on 23 October 1915 by 3 screws, triple expansion engines, 1901 12 December 1903 Sunk on 17 November 1914 by Russian mines 4 × 21 cm SK L/40 10 × SK L/40 guns 3 screws, triple expansion engines, 1902 5 April 1906 Broken up for scrap in 1921 3 screws, triple expansion engines, 1903 21 November 1905 Sunk on 4 November 1914 by German mines 8 × 21 cm SK L/40 6 × SK L/40 guns 3 screws, triple expansion engines, 1905 24 October 1907 Sunk on 8 December 1914 at the Battle of the Falkland Islands 3 screws, triple expansion engines, 1904 6 March 1908 Sunk on 8 December 1914 at the Battle of the Falkland Islands 12 × 21 cm SK L/45 8 × SK L/45 guns 3 screws, triple expansion engines, 21 February 1907 1 October 1909 Sunk on 24 January 1915 at the Battle of Dogger Bank
Light cruisers
Starting in the late 1890s, the began developing modern light cruisers, based on experience with the unprotected cruisers and a series of avisos it had built over the preceding decade. The ten-ship class set the basic pattern, which was gradually improved over successive classes. The introduced more powerful, main guns, and the added a waterline main belt to improve armor protection. Between 1897 and the end of World War I, the German Navy completed forty-seven light cruisers; all of these ships saw service during the war in a variety of theaters and roles. Some, such as and , served as commerce raiders, while others, such as the two s, served with the High Seas Fleet and saw action at the Battle of Jutland in 1916. Several fleet cruiser design studies were prepared in 1916, but no work was begun before the war ended in November 1918.