 In October 1918 , Admiral Hipper , now the commander of the entire High Seas Fleet , planned for a final battle with the Grand Fleet . Admiral Reinhard Scheer , the Chief of the Naval Staff , approved the plan on 27 October ; the operation was set for the 30th . However , when the fleet was ordered to assemble in Wilhelmshaven on 29 October , war @-@ weary crews began to desert or openly disobey their orders . Crews aboard König , Kronprinz , and Markgraf demonstrated for peace . The crew aboard Thüringen was the first to openly mutiny ; Helgoland and Kaiserin joined as well . By the evening of the 29th , red flags of revolution flew from the masts of dozens of warships in the harbor . In spite of this , Hipper decided to hold a last meeting aboard Baden — his flagship — to discuss the operation with the senior officers of the fleet . The following morning , it was clear the mutiny was too far gone to permit a fleet action . In an attempt to suppress the revolt , he ordered one of the battle squadrons to depart for Kiel . By 5 November , red flags had been raised on every battleship in the harbor except König , though it too was commandeered by a sailors ' council on 6 November . 
