I Scouting Group

I Scouting Group
Seydlitz with a zeppelin overhead
Country	Germany
Branch	Kaiserliche Marine
Type	Reconnaissance unit
Engagements	Battle of Dogger Bank Battle of Jutland
Commanders
Notable commanders	Hugo von Pohl Franz von Hipper

The I Scouting Group was a special reconnaissance unit within the German Kaiserliche Marine. The unit was famously commanded by Admiral Franz von Hipper during World War I. The I Scouting Group was one of the most active formations in the High Seas Fleet during the war; the unit took part in every major fleet operation in the North Sea, including the battles of Dogger Bank and Jutland. The unit also saw limited action in the Baltic Sea, including the Battle of the Gulf of Riga.

SMS Von der Tann was the first battlecruiser assigned to the I Scouting group. The ship joined the unit on 8 May 1911. On 30 September, Moltke was commissioned into the I Scouting Group, and replaced the old armored cruiser Roon.Seydlitz joined the unit after she was commissioned on 22 May 1913.Blücher was attached to the unit from August 1914. Derfflinger was slated to be assigned to the unit by the end of October 1914, but turbine damage delayed the ship from joining the I Scouting Group until 16 November of that year.Derfflinger's sistership Lützow joined the unit on 20 March 1916. The third Derfflinger-class battlecruiser, and final ship to join the I Scouting Group, Hindenburg, was assigned to the unit on 6 November 1917. In preparation of the fleet advance on 18–19 August, the I Scouting Group was to bombard the coastal town of Sunderland, but only two remaining German battlecruisers were still in fighting condition (Moltke and Von der Tann ) so three dreadnoughts were assigned to the Group for the operation: Markgraf, Grosser Kurfürst, and the newly commissioned Bayern.