Admiral Reinhard Scheer planned a fleet advance for 18–19 August 1916; the operation consisted of a bombardment conducted by I Scouting Group. This was an attempt to draw out and destroy Admiral David Beatty's battlecruisers. As and were the only two German battlecruisers still in fighting condition, three dreadnoughts were assigned to the unit for the operation: "Bayern" and the two ships and . Admiral Scheer and the rest of the High Seas Fleet, including 15 dreadnoughts, were to trail behind and provide cover. The makeshift I Scouting Group conducted familiarization exercises on 15 August in preparation for the operation; Hipper was displeased by the slow speed of the battleships and Scheer ordered the unit not to exceed from the main fleet so as to avoid being cut off by the faster British battlecruisers.