At the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the battleship and her sisters were placed back in active service as V Battle Squadron of the High Seas Fleet and deployed to coastal defense in the North Sea. They were also deployed briefly to the Baltic but saw no action. In 1915, the ships were again withdrawn from service and relegated to secondary duties. "Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse" was used as a depot ship in Kiel and eventually a torpedo target ship. After the war, the Treaty of Versailles greatly reduced the size of the German Navy. The vessel was sold for scrap to a German company and broken up in 1920.