The German fleet sent a battlecruiser squadron with accompanying cruisers and destroyers, commanded by Rear Admiral Friedrich Boedicker, to bombard the coastal ports of Yarmouth and Lowestoft.

In February 1916, Admiral Reinhard Scheer became commander-in-chief of the German High Seas Fleet and commenced a new campaign against the Royal Navy.

[1] A proposal was made to bombard towns on the east coast of England at daybreak on 25 April along with air raids by Zeppelins the night before, would provoke British ships to respond.

[3] Immediately before the raid, the German Navy believed that the British had strong forces in the North Sea, off Norway and off the south-east coast of England.

With luck, the German battlecruisers could engage the south-east force and after defeating it would run back to the north-west, meeting the northern group in the area around Terschelling Bank.

The destruction of the harbours and other military establishments of both towns would assist the German war effort, even if the raid failed to bait the British heavy units.

[5] The Main Fleet, consisting of Squadrons I, II and III, Scouting Division IV and the remainder of the torpedo flotillas, was to accompany the battlecruisers to the Hoofden, until the bombardment was over, to protect them against superior enemy forces.

She was forced to turn back with a flooded torpedo compartment from a 50 ft (15 m) hole on the starboard side, being only able to make 15 kn (17 mph; 28 km/h) with 1,400 short tons (1,300 t) of water on board and 11 men killed.

[3] While the rest of the squadron was stopped for Boedicker to transfer to Lützow and for Seydlitz to escape the minefield, the German ships sighted and avoided torpedoes from one or more British submarines.

This had previously been avoided, because in the clear weather the ships risked being sighted from the islands of Rottum and Schiermonnikoog and their movements reported to the British.

The crews were rescued and taken prisoner and around 07:30, the German Naval Staff passed on reports from Flanders of intercepted wireless transmissions instructing British ships to coal and then proceed to Dunkirk.

The Grand Fleet had encountered heavy seas and made slow progress coming south, leaving its destroyers behind because of the weather.

At 11:00, the Admiralty ordered the chase to be abandoned, at which point the main part of the fleet was 150 mi (130 nmi; 240 km) behind the British battlecruiser squadron, which had started out from further south.

The German battlecruiser squadron had failed to take advantage of its superior numbers to engage the British light cruisers and destroyers present at Lowestoft.

[11] The presence of these ships on the Thames was given later as one reason the Harwich destroyers were not permitted to join the Grand Fleet at the Battle of Jutland: they were held back to escort the battleships should they be called upon to take part.