The German transport ship Guben was taken over by the German Navy in 1915. Modified as an auxiliary cruiser, the ship was commissioned in January 1916 as auxiliary cruiser Greif . In February 1916, the ship was sent to an operation to the South Atlantic and Indian Ocean, but on its way through the North Sea, it was detected by British forces near Bergen on 29.02.1916. In an artillery battle against the auxiliary cruisers Alcantra and Andes , the Greif was able to sink the Alcantara . In the final part of the battle, the British cruiser Comus and the destroyer Munster joined the battle and sunk the already heavy damaged German ship.