the sides, and a thick roof. The turrets were protected by on the sides and armor ranging in thickness from on the turret roofs. The casemates had lighter armor protection, with on the sides and roofs. The deck armor ranged in thickness, depending on the area being protected. In the more vital areas, the deck armor was thick, while less important areas of the ship were covered by only . A 50 mm belt of sloping armor was placed under the main deck armor. The turret barbettes were protected by plating thick. The portions of the barbettes that were behind the main belt were thinner to save weight, which was a practice employed on most German and British ships of the period. Service history was launched on 30 March 1912, and was christened by Karl Wilhelm Heinrich von Kleist. On 22 May 1913 the ship was commissioned into the German fleet, her crew being taken from the old armored cruiser , which had been recently transferred to the reserve fleet. After trials, joined the rest of the High Seas Fleet for maneuvers off Helgoland. (Rear Admiral) Franz von Hipper, the commander of I Scouting Group, raised his flag in the ship on 23 June 1914. The ship served as Hipper's flagship until 26 October 1917. World War I Battle of Heligoland Bight Shortly after the outbreak of World War I, a brief engagement between German light cruisers and a raiding force of British cruisers and battlecruisers took place on 28 August 1914. During the morning, British cruisers from the Harwich Force attacked the German destroyers patrolling the Heligoland Bight. Six German light cruisers—, , , , , and —responded to the attack and inflicted serious damage to the British raiders. The arrival at approximately 13:37 of the British 1st Battlecruiser Squadron, under the command of Vice Admiral David Beatty, quickly put the German ships at a disadvantage. Along with the rest of the I Scouting Group battlecruisers, was stationed in the Wilhelmshaven Roads on the morning of the battle. By 08:50, Hipper had requested permission from Admiral Friedrich von Ingenohl, the commander in chief of the High Seas Fleet, to send his ships to relieve the beleaguered German cruisers. The battlecruisers and were ready to sail by 12:10, but the low tide prevented the ships from being able to pass over the sand bar at the mouth of the Jade