On 28 August 1914, the British Harwich Force, supported by light cruisers and battlecruisers of the Grand Fleet, carried out a raid towards Heligoland with the intention of destroying patrolling German torpedo boats. The German defensive patrols around Heligoland consisted of one flotilla (I Torpedo Flotilla) of 12 modern torpedo boats forming an outer patrol line about North and West of Heligoland, with an inner line of older torpedo boats of the 3rd Minesweeping Division at about . Four German light cruisers and another flotilla of torpedo boats (V Torpedo Boat Flotilla) was in the vicinity of Heligoland. "V188 ", a member of the 1st Half Flotilla of I Torpedo Boat Flotilla, formed part of the outer screen of torpedo boats. At about 06:00 on 28 August, , another member of the outer screen reported spotting the periscope of a submarine. As a result, the 5th Torpedo Boat Flotilla was ordered out to hunt the hostile submarine. At 07:57 "G194" was fired on by British warships, and was soon retreating towards Heligoland, pursued by four British destroyers. V Flotilla and the old torpedo boats of the 3rd Minesweeping Division also came under British fire, and were only saved by the intervention of the German cruisers and , with the torpedo boats , and "T33" damaged. On receiving a radio signal from "G194" that she was being chased by superior forces, "V188" set course at full speed towards Heligoland. She turned southwards to avoid British light cruisers, escaping to Heligoland and therefore avoided the fate of , leader of I Flotilla, the next ship to the north in the patrol line, which was trapped by cruisers and destroyers of the Harwich Force and sunk. The intervention of the supporting British forces resulted in the sinking of the German cruisers , and . The British light cruiser and destroyers , and were badly damaged but safely returned to base.