 The fleet remained in captivity during the negotiations that ultimately produced the Treaty of Versailles . Von Reuter believed that the British intended to seize the German ships on 21 June 1919 , which was the deadline for Germany to have signed the peace treaty . <unk> that the deadline had been extended to the 23rd , Reuter ordered the ships to be sunk at the first opportunity . On the morning of 21 June , the British fleet left Scapa Flow to conduct training maneuvers , and at 11 : 20 Reuter transmitted the order to his ships . Markgraf sank at 16 : 45 . The British soldiers in the guard detail <unk> in their attempt to prevent the Germans from scuttling the ships ; they shot and killed Markgraf 's captain , Walter Schumann , who was in a lifeboat , and an enlisted man . In total , the guards killed nine Germans and wounded twenty @-@ one . The remaining crews , totaling some 1 @,@ 860 officers and enlisted men , were imprisoned . 
