 From 28 August to 21 September , she served as the flagship for Konteradmiral ( Rear Admiral ) Franz von Hipper , then the deputy commander of the reconnaissance forces , while Hipper was temporarily displaced from his usual flagship , the battlecruiser Von der Tann . Hipper left briefly , but returned on 26 September and remained aboard through the following year . During the autumn fleet maneuvers in September 1913 , Cöln attempted to warn the crew of zeppelin L 1 of the deteriorating weather conditions , but they did not receive the message . As a result , the zeppelin crashed off the island of Helgoland . After the conclusion of the maneuvers , Hipper lowered his flag , and he was replaced by Kommodore ( Commodore ) Leberecht Maass . The year 1914 began with the normal training routine , but as tensions rose following the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria on 28 June forced the cancellation of the planned fleet exercises for the end of July . Starting on 30 July , as war loomed , Cöln was stationed in the German Bight to monitor maritime traffic . 
