she carried ten Maxim guns in individual mounts. She was also equipped with two torpedo tubes with five torpedoes. They were submerged in the hull on the broadside. She was also fitted to carry fifty naval mines. The ship was protected by an armored deck that was up to thick. The conning tower had thick sides, and the guns were protected by thick gun shields. Service history Leipzig was ordered under the contract name "N" and was laid down at the AG Weser shipyard in Bremen on 12 July 1904 and launched on 21 March 1905, after which fitting-out work commenced. Work on the ship was completed, save the installation of her armament, by February 1906, when she underwent builder's trials. The ship then moved to Wilhelmshaven to have her guns installed. She was commissioned into the High Seas Fleet on 20 April 1906 for sea trials that lasted until mid-June. During this period, (FK—Frigate Captain) Franz von Hipper served as the ship's first commanding officer. The ship concluded the initial period of service as the escort for Kaiser Wilhelm II, who was traveling on his annual summer cruise aboard the HAPAG steamer . Hipper thereafter left the ship. Peacetime career in East Asia Leipzig was assigned to the East Asia Squadron, and her crew began preparations for the voyage overseas on 19 August. She sailed from Wilhelmshaven on 8 September and, after passing through the Dutch East Indies, arrived in Hong Kong on 6 January 1907. There, she met the protected cruiser , another member of the East Asia Squadron. From 25 January to 10 March, Leipzig lay as a guard ship at Tsingtao, the capital of the Kiautschou Bay Leased Territory. She later steamed up the Yangtze river with the squadron commander aboard, (VAdm—Vice Admiral) Carl von Coerper; the gunboat and the torpedo boat accompanied Leipzig on the trip. In June, she joined the rest of the cruisers of the squadron for a tour of northern ports in the region. In the first half of 1908, the East Asia Squadron embarked on another lengthy cruise in northern East Asian waters. Leipzig made a shorter voyage in the Yellow Sea in August; that month, (KK—Corvette Captain) Richard Engel took command of the ship. In September and October, she visited Shanghai, China, and made another trip up the Yangtze. On 17 November, she represented Germany at a major naval review