Seydlitz represented the culmination of the first generation of German battlecruisers, which had started with the Von der Tann in 1906 and continued with the pair of Moltke-class battlecruisers ordered in 1907 and 1908.
Seydlitz representou a culminación da primeira xeración de cruceiros de batalla alemáns, que se iniciaron co Von der Tann en 1906, e continuaron con dous barcos da clase Moltke en 1907 e 1908.