Starting in 1916, the ships of the "Braunschweig" class began to be withdrawn from active service, primarily because of manpower shortages. "Elsass" was reduced to a barracks ship based in Kiel in July, and "Hessen" was decommissioned and disarmed in December; she thereafter became a depot ship based in Brunsbüttel in 1917. "Braunschweig" was converted into a training ship, and on 20 August, was reduced to a barracks ship, also in Kiel. "Preussen" became a depot ship in Wilhelmshaven also in 1917. "Lothringen" continued her guard ship duties until September 1917, when she too was withdrawn from service, thereafter being used as an engineer training ship in Wilhelmshaven. Starting in 1916, guns removed from these ships were used by the Imperial Army as railway guns; one of these guns was captured by the Australian Army and is preserved as the Amiens Gun at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra, Australia.