 Hindenburg was to have taken part in what would have amounted to the " death ride " of the High Seas Fleet shortly before the end of World War I. The bulk of the High Seas Fleet was to have sortied from their base in Wilhelmshaven to engage the British Grand Fleet ; Admiral Reinhard Scheer intended to inflict as much damage as possible on the British navy , to achieve a better bargaining position for Germany whatever the cost to the fleet . The plan involved two simultaneous attacks by light cruisers and destroyers , one on Flanders and another on shipping in the Thames estuary ; Hindenburg and the other four battlecruisers were to support the Thames attack . After both strikes , the fleet was to concentrate off the Dutch coast , where it would meet the Grand Fleet in battle . While the fleet was consolidating in Wilhelmshaven , war @-@ weary sailors began deserting en masse . As Von der Tann and Derfflinger passed through the locks that separated Wilhelmshaven 's inner harbor and roadstead , some 300 men from both ships climbed over the side and disappeared ashore . 
