While the German European fleet would remain in Europe, fighting only uncommonly, a number of German surface ships were already abroad, and were immediately tasked with commerce raiding to harass allied shipping. Limited in their actions and constantly at risk of sinking, most of the German ships did not perform well, but some were able to cause significant problems for British commerce. One of those ships was the SMS Emden, a Dresden class light cruiser that travelled 30,000 nautical miles in an unlikely campaign, without support, against allied shipping wherever she could find it.