"Stralsund" was assigned to the reconnaissance forces of the High Seas Fleet for the majority of her career. She saw significant action in the early years of World War I, including several operations off the British coast and the Battles of Heligoland Bight and Dogger Bank, in August 1914 and November 1915, respectively. She was not damaged in either action. The ship was in dockyard hands during the Battle of Jutland, and so she missed the engagement. After the end of the war, she served briefly in the "Reichsmarine" before being surrendered to the Allies. She was ceded to the French Navy, where she served as "Mulhouse" until 1925. She was formally stricken in 1933 and broken up for scrap two years later.