In WWI, the German fleet was blockaded by the larger Royal Navy. For the most part, it was kept in its base at Wilhelmshaven. The Battle of Jutland happened when the German fleet, lead by Admiral Reinhard Scheer, tried to break out into the open sea. The German fleet consisted of 22 battleships, five battlecruisers, 11 cruisers and 61 torpedo-boats. Scheer also had submarines with torpedos. These he arranged outside the main British bases.