Service History
In early 1893, Kaiserin Augusta and Seeadler conducted a good-will visit to the United States, a belated celebration of the 400th anniversary of Columbus's first voyage across the Atlantic. On 21 June 1895, the Kaiser Wilhelm Canal, connecting the North and Baltic Seas, was opened; Kaiserin Augusta was present during the opening ceremonies. She led a group of twenty-one unarmored ships, in company with the four Brandenburg-class battleships, the four Sachsen-class ironclads, and four of the Siegfried-class coastal defense ships. Later that year, the ship took part in an expedition to Morocco along with the coastal defense ship Hagen and the frigates Marie and Stosch to secure an indemnity demanded in the aftermath of the murder of two Germans. The operation was heavily criticized, especially in Britain, where anti-German sentiment was beginning to rise.
In February 1897, an international naval demonstration took place off Crete, to protest Greece's annexation of the island. Kaiserin Augusta was the sole German contribution to the force, until she was ordered to the Far East, at which point she was replaced by the old ironclad Oldenburg. Immediately following the seizure of the Kiautschou Bay concession in China, Admiral Otto von Diederichs, the commander of the East Asia Squadron, requested reinforcements to secure the new colonial territory. In mid-November, he specifically requested Kaiserin Augusta and additional ground troops to garrison the port. The ship was joined by the cruisers Deutschland and Gefion, which carried the III Seebataillon, and Cormoran. As Kaiserin Augusta had been stationed in the Mediterranean, she arrived first, on 30 December.
Following the outbreak of the Spanish–American War in 1898, Diederichs was ordered to proceed to the Philippines, where Commodore George Dewey had defeated a Spanish squadron commanded by Rear Admiral Patricio Montojo. Diederichs was instructed to protect local German interests, and if possible, seize another colonial concession in the Philippines. His ships dispersed on various colonial missions or under repair, Diederichs initially concentrated his forces slowly; he recalled Kaiserin Augusta to serve as his flagship while the rest of the force assembled. After the end of the Battle of Manila, Kaiserin Augusta steamed to Hong Kong where the ship notified Berlin of the defeat of the Spanish garrison. She also carried the former Governor General of the Philippines, Basilio AugustĂn, out of Manila. The ship left Filipino waters on 13 August and arrived two days later.
Kaiserin Augusta remained stationed in Asia and participated in the international effort to suppress the Boxer Rebellion in 1900. She contributed landing parties to Admiral Edward Seymour's relief force, based in Tientsin. In 1902, the ship returned to Germany for an extensive overhaul, which began in 1903, and lasted until 1907. During the refit, the ship's generators were replaced with more powerful units that more than doubled electrical output, at 124 kW at 110 V. Her bridge was significantly expanded, with a second deck and extended aft of the foremast. The three funnels were lengthened by 2 m (6 ft 7 in) and one searchlight was installed on each of the mast tops. The four swivel-mounted torpedo tubes were also removed during this period. After emerging from the modernization, the ship was placed in reserve.
Following the outbreak of World War I in 1914, Kaiserin Augusta was reactivated for use as a gunnery training ship, to replace more modern ships that joined the High Seas Fleet. To facilitate the training of gunners, the ship's armament was diversified. She carried one 15 cm SK L/45 gun, four 10.5 cm SK L/45 guns, four 8.8 cm SK L/45 guns, four 8.8 cm SK L/35 guns, five 8.8 cm SK L/30 guns, and one 8.8 cm SK L/30 gun in a U-boat mounting. She served in this capacity for the duration of the war, until she was decommissioned 14 December 1918. The ship was formally stricken from the naval register on 1 October 1919 and sold to Norddeutsche Tiefbauges in Berlin, and broken up the next year in Kiel-Nordmole.
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