Upon entering service, "Von der Tann" joined the fleet's main reconnaissance unit, I Scouting Group. The ship was present for most of the German fleet operations during World War I, including several raids of the English coast between 1914 and 1916. At the Battle of Jutland on 31 May – 1 June 1916, "Von der Tann" was the last ship in the German battlecruiser squadron. She engaged and, after 15 minutes of firing, "Von der Tann" scored a hit with one of her 28 cm shells that caused a magazine explosion, destroying "Indefatigable". "Von der Tann" was herself badly damaged in the course of the action, and had at one point had all four of her turrets disabled, but was repaired after the battle and returned to service. She saw no further action, however, as the Germans turned to the U-boat campaign against British merchant shipping after Jutland. At the end of the war, "Von der Tann" was interned in Scapa Flow and eventually scuttled with the rest of the fleet. She was raised in 1930 and broken up for scrap between 1931–1934.