 Hessen took part in the Battle of Jutland on 31 May – 1 June 1916. Hessen and the five ships of the Deutschland class formed the II Battle Squadron, under the command of Rear Admiral Franz Mauve. During the battle, Hessen and the Deutschland-class ships performed a vital blocking action that covered the withdrawal of the German battlecruisers. Vice Admiral David Beatty's battlecruisers had attacked the German ships in the darkness, and when the German ships had turned westward to evade their attackers, Mauve continued in a southerly course, which placed his ships between the British and German battlecruisers. The British battlecruisers turned their attention to the pre-dreadnoughts, who in turn altered their course to the southwest in order to bring all of their guns to bear on the British ships. In the darkness, only muzzle flashes from the British ships could be seen; as a result Hessen and the other II Squadron ships held their fire.
