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December 1914
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The German battlecruisers Seydlitz and Moltke and the crusier Blucher bombard Hartlepool, then being used as a base by British destroyer flotillas (and thus a legitmate target). The Germans shell the two gun batteries at Hartlepool as well as attacking a number of British warships in the port. 86 civilians are killed and another 424 wounded in the raid.
The British response is ineffective, although two light cruisers (HMS Southampton and HMS Birmingham) do briefly engage the German light cruisers before a signal aimed at HMS Nottingham forces them to withdraw . Other British ships do even worse - the light cruisers HMS Blanche and HMS Boadicea were forced to retire after suffering damage in heavy seas while coming down the east coast of Scotland. Blucher hits the cruiser HMS Patrol, but the British ship is supported by fire from the gun batteries.
The German battlecruisers Deffflinger and Von der Tann and the light cruiser Kolberg bombard Scarborough, in the mistaken belief that it was defended by a gun battery. The Germans bombard the coastguard station, yeomanry barracks, the castle, the grand hotel and a naval wireless station. The Germans then move on to Whitby.
The German battlecruisers Deffflinger and Von der Tann and the light cruiser Kolberg move on from Scarborough to Whitby, another undefended town (and thus not a valid target by the rules in place in 1914). In a ten minute bombardment they kill three people before beginning their retreat.