In the meantime, the other three ships were still serving in II Battle Squadron, where they participated in the fleet sorties conducted in the first two years of the war. This series of operations culminated in the Battle of Jutland on 31 May–1 June 1916; by that time, only "Hessen" was still on active service with the squadron. "Preussen" was on rotation as the guard ship in the Danish straits (and had been replaced as flagship by the battleship ) and "Lothringen" was in poor condition and in dire need of repair. "Hessen" saw limited action at Jutland, coming into contact with heavy British ships once. This encounter came late on 31 May, when "Hessen" and the other pre-dreadnoughts of II Battle Squadron briefly engaged Vice Admiral David Beatty's 1st Battlecruiser Squadron, in doing so covering the withdrawal of the battered German battlecruisers under the command of Franz von Hipper. The loss of the pre-dreadnought during the battle highlighted the vulnerability of the older battleships, and coupled with their slow speed, convinced the German naval command to withdraw them from front-line service. "Preussen", "Lothringen", and "Hessen" continued as guard ships in the Baltic in the aftermath of Jutland.