"Hamburg" also operated with the High Seas Fleet during this period, generally in company with the light cruisers of IV Scouting Group. The first such operation was the bombardment of Scarborough, Hartlepool and Whitby conducted over the course of 15–16 December. IV Scouting Group was tasked with screening the main element of the fleet while the battlecruisers of I Scouting Group shelled the towns; the intention was to lure out a portion of the British fleet that could be defeated in detail. At 06:59 on 16 December, "Hamburg", the armored cruiser , and the light cruiser encountered British destroyers under Commander Loftus William Jones. Jones shadowed the Germans until 07:40, at which point "Hamburg" and "Stuttgart" were detached to sink their pursuers. Reports of the destroyers prompted Admiral Friedrich von Ingenohl, the German fleet commander, or order the fleet to withdraw. At 08:02, "Roon" signaled the two light cruisers and ordered them to abandon the pursuit and retreat along with the rest of the High Seas Fleet.