 As a result of the outbreak of World War I , Kaiser Barbarossa and her sisters were brought out of reserve and mobilized as the V Battle Squadron on 5 August 1914 . The ships were prepared for war very slowly , and they were not ready for service in the North Sea until the end of August . They were initially tasked with coastal defense , though they served in this capacity for a very short time . In mid @-@ September , the V Squadron was transferred to the Baltic , under the command of Prince Heinrich . He initially planned to launch a major amphibious assault on Windau , but a shortage of transports forced a revision of the plan . Instead , the V Squadron was to carry the landing force , but this too was cancelled after Heinrich received false reports of British warships having entered the Baltic on 25 September . Kaiser Barbarossa and her sisters returned to Kiel the following day , disembarked the landing force , and then proceeded to the North Sea , where they resumed guard ship duties . Before the end of the year , the V Squadron was once again transferred to the Baltic . 
