Instead, the United States and its State Department and Navy Department put diplomatic pressure on the Argentine government. After socialist gains in the legislature, the Argentine government introduced several bills in May 1914 which would have put the battleships up for sale, but they were all defeated by late June. Following the commencement of the First World War, the German and British ambassadors to the United States both complained to the US State Department; the former believed that the British were going to be given the ships as soon as the ships reached Argentina, and the latter considered it the responsibility of the United States to ensure that the ships never left Argentina's possession. International armament companies attempted to get Argentina to sell to one of the smaller Balkan countries and expected that the ships would then find their way into the war. "Rivadavia" was commissioned into the "Armada de la República Argentina" on 27 August 1914 at the Charlestown Navy Yard, although it was not fully completed until December. On 23 December 1914, "Rivadavia" left the United States for Argentina. It arrived in its capital, Buenos Aires, on 19 February 1915. Over 47,000 people came out to see the new ship over the next three days, including the President Victorino de la Plaza. In April 1915, "Rivadavia" was put into the training division of the Navy, remaining there until 1917, when the navy transferred the ship into the First Division. In 1917, "Rivadavia" sailed to Comodoro Rivadavia when communist oil workers went on strike. Later in 1917, the Argentines had to sharply curtail "Rivadavia"s activities because of a fuel shortage, but they voyaged to the United States with the Argentine ambassador in 1918. "Rivadavia" then took on a load of gold bullion and brought it back to Argentina, docking in Puerto Belgrano on 23 September 1918. In December 1920, "Rivadavia" participated in ceremonies that marked the 400th anniversary of the discovery of the Strait of Magellan. On the 2nd, the ship called on Valparaíso in Chile; 25 days later, it took part in an international naval review. Two years later, "Rivadavia" was placed into reserve. In 1923, the Navy decided to send "Rivadavia" to the United States to be modernized. The ship departed on 6 August 1924 and reached Boston on the 30th, where it spent the next two years.