 Following her commissioning on 1 October 1914 , Markgraf conducted sea trials , which lasted until 12 December . By 10 January 1915 , the ship had joined III Battle Squadron of the High Seas Fleet with her three sister ships . On 22 January 1915 , III Squadron was detached from the fleet to conduct maneuver , gunnery , and torpedo training in the Baltic . The ships returned to the North Sea on 11 February , too late to assist the I Scouting Group at the Battle of Dogger Bank . 
