Rubuta ci gaba ga wannan sakin layi - "Schleswig-Holstein" da "Schlesien" sannan suka shiga cikin mamayar Denmark
da kuma mamayewar Norway, a cikin watan Afrilu na 1940. Babu wani jirgi da ya ga aikin a lokacin ayyukan. Bayan haka, "Schleswig-Holstein" an sake cire shi daga aikin gaba kuma an yi amfani da shi a matsayin jirgin horo, yayin da "Schlesien" ya ci gaba da aikinsa na kankara. A watan Maris na 1941, "Schlesien" ya raka masu aikin hakar ma'adinai a cikin Baltic. Bayan ya dawo daga wannan aiki a ƙarshen watan, ya zama jirgin ruwa na horo a Gotenhafen. "Schleswig-Holstein" an sake dawo da shi a farkon 1942 don aikin aikin kankara a cikin Baltic, kuma a watan Mayu ta haɗu da haɗari a cikin Gulf of Riga, wanda ya tilasta komawa Gotenhafen don gyarawa. Daga nan sai aka rage jirgin zuwa ayyukan horo.