They were larger than the Roon-class cruisers that preceded them; the extra size was used primarily to increase the main armament of 21 cm (8.2 inch) guns from four to eight.

[2] The East Asia Squadron, including both Scharnhorst-class ships, was subsequently annihilated at the Battle of the Falkland Islands on 8 December.

The speed increase was achieved by the addition of two boilers that provided 7,100 metric horsepower (7,000 ihp) more power for the propulsion system.

As a result of these improvements, the Scharnhorst class was the first German armored cruiser design that compared favorably to its foreign counterparts.

[4] Several other minor changes were introduced, including a strengthening of the tertiary battery of 8.8 cm (3.5 in) guns to the level used in contemporary battleships like the Deutschland class.

The ships carried a number of smaller vessels, including two picket boats, two launches, one pinnace, two cutters, three yawls, and one dinghy.

This provided a maximum range of 4,800 nautical miles (8,900 km; 5,500 mi) at a cruising speed of 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph).

Tests at the navy's firing range at Meppen had revealed that the 100 mm (3.9 in) belt used in all preceding designs was too thin to stop the medium-caliber shells that the cruisers would likely face in combat.

[6][14] Upon commissioning, both ships of the class were assigned to the East Asia Squadron, with Scharnhorst serving as Admiral Maximilian von Spee's flagship.

[15] At the start of World War I, the two ships were in the Caroline Islands on a routine cruise; the rest of Spee's squadron was dispersed around the Pacific.

The declaration of war by Japan on Germany convinced Spee to consolidate his force with the cruisers Leipzig and Dresden from the American station, and head for Chile to refuel.

[16] On 22 September, Scharnhorst and Gneisenau approached the island of Papeete in French Polynesia with the intention of seizing the coal stockpiled in the harbor.

Because the German ships had an advantage in speed, Spee was able to keep the distance to 18 kilometers, before closing to 12 km (6.5 nmi) to engage the British flotilla at 19:00.

After news of the battle reached Kaiser Wilhelm II in Berlin, he ordered 300 Iron Crosses to be awarded to the men of Spee's squadron.

After refueling in Valparaiso, the East Asia Squadron departed for the Falkland Islands, in order to destroy the British wireless transmitter located there.

[18] Some six hours after news of the battle reached England, Fisher ordered Admiral John Jellicoe, the commander of the Grand Fleet, to detach the battlecruisers Invincible and Inflexible to hunt down the German ships.

Despite the head start, the fast battlecruisers quickly caught up with the worn-out German ships, which had just completed a 16,000 mile voyage without repairs.

Gneisenau had been hit more than 50 times at close range; the crew gave three cheers for the Kaiser before the vessel sank.

Nürnberg and Leipzig were also sunk, though Dresden managed to escape temporarily, before she too was destroyed off Juan Fernández Island.