SMS Gneisenau
SMS "Gneisenau" was an armored cruiser of the German navy, part of the two-ship . She was named after August von Gneisenau, a Prussian general of the Napoleonic Wars. The ship was laid down in 1904 at the AG Weser dockyard in Bremen, launched in June 1906, and completed in March 1908, at a cost of over 19 million goldmarks. She was armed with a main battery of eight guns, had a top speed of , and displaced at full combat load.
SMS Elsass
"Elsass" was laid down on 26 May 1901 at the Schichau-Werke in Danzig under construction number 97. The second unit of her class, she was ordered under the contract name "J" as a new unit for the fleet. "Elsass" was launched on 26 May 1903, and the launching ceremony was attended by Hermann zu Hohenlohe-Langenburg, the "Reichsstatthalter" (Governor) of the ship's namesake province. The ship was transferred to Kiel on 26 October 1904 by a shipyard crew. She was commissioned into the fleet on 29 November 1904 and began sea trials thereafter. These were interrupted on 15 December, when the ship's rudder broke, forcing her to return for repairs that lasted until February 1905. "Elsass" then returned to trials, which were completed by May. She thereafter joined the II Squadron, replacing the old coastal defense ship . Her first commander was then-"Kapitän zur See" ("KzS"—Captain at Sea) Hugo von Pohl, who remained in the position until September 1905.