On 22 February 1918, "Westfalen" and "Rheinland" were tasked with a mission to Finland to support German army units to be deployed there. The Finns were engaged in a Civil War between the Whites and the Reds. On 23 February, the two ships took on the 14th Jäger Battalion, and early on 24 February they departed for the Åland Islands. Åland was to be a forward operating base, from which the port of Hanko would be secured, following an assault on the capital of Helsinki. The task force reached the Åland Islands on 5 March, where they encountered the Swedish coastal defense ships , , and . Negotiations ensued, which resulted in the landing of the German troops on Åland on 7 March; "Westfalen" then returned to Danzig.