 Blücher was launched on 11 April 1908 and commissioned into the fleet on 1 October 1909 . She served as a training ship for naval gunners starting in 1911 . In 1914 , she was transferred to the I Scouting Group along with the newer battlecruisers Von der Tann , Moltke , and the flagship Seydlitz . The first operation in which Blücher took part was an inconclusive sweep into the Baltic Sea against Russian forces . On 3 September 1914 , Blücher , along with seven pre @-@ dreadnought battleships of the IV Squadron , five cruisers , and 24 destroyers sailed into the Baltic in an attempt to draw out a portion of the Russian fleet and destroy it . The light cruiser Augsburg encountered the armored cruisers Bayan and Pallada north of Dagö ( now Hiiumaa ) island . The German cruiser attempted to lure the Russian ships back towards Blücher so that she could destroy them , but the Russians refused to take the bait and instead withdrew to the Gulf of Finland . On 9 September , the operation was terminated without any major engagements between the two fleets . 
