SMS Gneisenau (1879)
The crew attempted to drop the starboard anchor, but it did not catch in the stony ground. "Gneisenau" was driven into the mole repeatedly, striking it with her stern twice before being turned and pushed bow-first on the starboard side, forcing her aground. A merchant ship attempted to come to the crew's aid, but they were unable to connect a line between the two ships before "Gneisenau" began to list 35 degrees. A boat from shore also attempted to rescue the crew, but it too was forced ashore in the heavy seas. Wave action quickly smashed "Gneisenau"s hull against the mole, and part of her crew attempted to find safety by climbing the rigging. The ship rolled over onto her side, and the surviving crewmen reached shore with a line. Forty-one men were killed in the accident, including Kretschmann and the ship's first officer. "Charlotte" and the British ironclad were sent to aid the wounded. Those killed in the sinking were buried in Málaga's cemetery, and the survivors returned to Germany aboard the HAPAG steamship on 2 January 1901.
SMS Breslau
In May 1917, "Midilli" laid a minefield off the mouth of the Danube; while there, she destroyed the wireless station on Fidonisi Island and captured 11 prisoners. The minefield she laid later sank the destroyer on 30 June. While "Midilli" was at sea, a Russian force including "Imperatritsa Ekaterina Velikaya", which had by then been renamed , raided the Bosporus. Returning to port, "Midilli" was spotted by the Russian fleet, which attempted to cut her off from the safety of the Bosporus. "Midilli" raced toward port, while salvos from "Svobodnaya Rossiya" fell around her. The destroyer "Gnevny" closed to attack, but "Midilli"s 15 cm guns drove her off. The cruiser managed to reach port without damage; this was the last engagement of the war between the former German warships and the Russian fleet. On 1 November, "Midilli" left the Bosporus to conduct a sweep for Russian warships. The Russians observed the departure and attempted to attack the cruiser with "Svobodnaya Rossiya" and the new battleship , but mutiny aboard "Svobodnaya Rossiya" prevented the force from intercepting "Midilli" before she slipped back into port that night.