Two days later, the ships were transferred to the North Sea. They stayed there only briefly, returning to the Baltic on 20 September. From 22 to 26 September, the squadron took part in a sweep into the eastern Baltic in an unsuccessful attempt to find and destroy Russian warships. From 4 December 1914 to 2 April 1915, the ships of IV Squadron were tasked with coastal defense duties along Germany's North Sea coast, to prevent incursions by the British Royal Navy. Ships of the squadron's VII Division, which included "Wettin", , "Schwaben", and "Mecklenburg", then participated in training exercises in the western Baltic.