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====== 1916-1917 ======
Wilhem Souchon kemudian mengirim ''Yavuz'' menuju [[Zonguldak]] pada 8 Januari 1916 untuk mengawal sebuah kapal pengangkut batu bara kosong dari kapal penghancur Rusia, tetapi armada laut Rusia berhasil menenggelamkan kapal tersebut sebelum bertemu Yavuz. Saat berlayar kembali menuju Bosphorus, Yavuz bertemu dengan sebuah kapal tempur Rusia dan kemudian terlibat dalam kontak senjata singkat. Kerusakan komponen atau yang sebelumnya tidak diperbaiki dan mendapat perawatan dengan baik membuat kecepatan Yavuz menjadi lebih lambat. Hal ini kemudian membuat Yavuz mengalami kesulitan untuk melakukan diri dari kapal tempur Rusia kelas ''dreadnought'' tersebut yang diketahui memiliki kecepatan hingga 43,5 km/j. Pada tanggal 4 Juli 1916, Yavuz kembali terlibat penyerangan pelabuhan kota Tuapse, dimana dalam penyerangan ini, kapal ini berhasil menenggelamkan satu kapal uap dan satu kapal layar. Setelah melakukan aksinya, Yavuz kemudian berhasil melarikan diri lagi untuk menuju ke Boshporus, yang mana kapal ini kemudian mengalami perbaikan pada bagian baling-baling kapal.
Admiral Souchon sent ''Yavuz'' to Zonguldak on 8 January to protect an approaching empty collier from Russian destroyers in the area, but the Russians sank the transport ship before ''Yavuz'' arrived. On the return trip to the Bosphorus, ''Yavuz'' encountered ''Imperatritsa Ekaterina''. The two ships engaged in a brief artillery duel, beginning at a range of 18,500 meters. ''Yavuz'' turned to the southwest, and in the first four minutes of the engagement, fired five salvos from her main guns. Neither ship scored any hits, though shell splinters from near misses struck ''Yavuz''. Though nominally much faster than ''Imperatritsa Ekaterina'', the Turkish battlecruiser's bottom was badly fouled and her propeller shafts were in poor condition. This made it difficult for ''Yavuz'' to escape from the powerful Russian battleship, which was reported to have reached 23.5 kn (43.5 km/h; 27.0 mph).
Terbatasnya persediaan batu bara kemudian memaksa Wilhem Souchon untuk menghentikan aktivitas operasional dari Yavuz dan Midilli di sepanjang tahun 1917, sebelum akhirnya pada desember 1917, kekaisaran Ottoman menandatangani gencatan senjata pasca-Revolusi Bolshevik yang terjadi di Rusia dan membuat persediaan batu bara kembali ada.
Russian forces were making significant gains into Ottoman territory during the Caucasus Campaign. In an attempt to prevent further advances by the Russian army, ''Yavuz'' rushed 429 officers and men, a mountain artillery battery, machine gun and aviation units, 1,000 rifles, and 300 cases of munitions to Trebizond on 4 February. On 4 March, the Russian navy landed a detachment of some 2,100 men, along with mountain guns and horses, on either side of the port of Atina. The Turks were caught by surprise and forced to evacuate. Another landing took place at Kavata Bay, some 5 miles east of Trebizond, in June. In late June, the Turks counterattacked and penetrated around 20 miles into the Russian lines. ''Yavuz'' and ''Midilli'' conducted a series of coastal operations to support the Turkish attacks. On 4 July, ''Yavuz'' shelled the port of Tuapse, where she sank a steamer and a motor schooner. The Turkish ships sailed northward to circle back behind the Russians before the two Russian dreadnoughts left Sevastopol to try to attack them. They then returned to the Bosphorus, where ''Yavuz'' was docked for repairs to her propeller shafts until September.
The coal shortage continued to worsen until Admiral Souchon was forced to suspend operations by ''Yavuz'' and ''Midilli'' through 1917. After an armistice between Russia and the Ottoman Empire was signed in December 1917 following the Bolshevik revolution, formalized in the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk in March 1918, coal started to arrive again from eastern Turkey.
====== 1918 ======
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