When the ships were interned, they had their guns disabled through the removal of their breech blocks. The fleet remained in captivity during the negotiations that ultimately produced the Versailles Treaty. It became apparent to Reuter that the British intended to seize the German ships on 21 June, which was the deadline for Germany to have signed the peace treaty. To prevent this, he decided to scuttle his ships at the first opportunity. On the morning of 21 June, the British fleet left Scapa Flow to conduct training maneuvers; at 11:20 Reuter transmitted the order to his ships. "Bayern" sank at 14:30, but "Baden" was run aground by British guards; she was the only capital ship that was not sunk. After being refloated and thoroughly examined, "Baden" was expended as a gunnery target, finally being sunk on 16 August 1921 to the southwest of Portsmouth. "Bayern" was raised for scrapping on 1 September 1934 and broken up over the following year in Rosyth.