SMS Gneisenau
"Gneisenau" was laid down at the AG Weser shipyard in Bremen, Germany in 1904, under construction number 144. She was launched on 14 June 1906, and commissioned into the fleet nearly two years later on 6 March 1908. The ship cost the German government 19,243,000 goldmarks. The ship had been designed for service with the High Seas Fleet, though it was found to be too weak for service with the battle fleet; instead it was deployed overseas, a role in which it performed well.
SMS Ariadne
SMS "Ariadne" was the fifth member of the ten-ship of light cruisers, built by the Imperial German Navy. She was built by the Imperial Dockyard in Danzig, laid down in 1899, launched in August 1900, and commissioned into the High Seas Fleet in May 1901. Armed with a main battery of ten guns and two torpedo tubes, "Ariadne" was capable of a top speed of .