through the following year. During the maneuvers held in 1896, Hoche served as the flagship of Vice Admiral Rognault de Premesnil. The exercises were held from 6 to 26 July, beginning with drills for the crews and concluding with a simulated battle between a squadron led by Hoche against an "enemy" unit that was to raid the French coast and escape, which it succeeded in doing. Hoche again participated in the large-scale maneuvers of 1897, which were held in July. Hoche and the bulk of the squadron were tasked with intercepting Bouvines, which was to steam from Cherbourg to Brest between 15 and 16 July. As with the previous year's maneuvers, the defending squadron was unable to intercept Bouvines before she reached Brest. The squadron then moved to Quiberon Bay for another round of maneuvers from 18 to 21 July. This scenario saw the protected cruisers and simulate a hostile fleet steaming from the Mediterranean Sea to attack France's Atlantic coast. Unlike previous exercises, Hoche and the rest of the Northern Squadron successfully intercepted the cruisers and "defeated" them. After the new pre-dreadnought battleship entered service in June 1898, she took Hoches place as the flagship of the Northern Squadron. The latter was then decommissioned to be reconstructed, along with several other ironclads built in the 1880s. Work was completed by August 1901, when Hoche conducted sea trials before returning to service. 1901–1913 After returning to active duty in 1901, Hoche once again joined the Northern Squadron. By that time, the squadron also included Masséna, the pre-dreadnought , and the ironclads Amiral Baudin, , and . During the fleet maneuvers that year, the Northern Squadron steamed south for joint maneuvers with the Mediterranean Squadron. The Northern Squadron ships formed part of the hostile force, and as it was entering the Mediterranean from the Atlantic, represented a German squadron attempting to meet its Italian allies. The exercises began on 3 July and concluded on 28 July. In August and September, the Northern Squadron conducted amphibious assault exercises. On 28 August, they escorted a group of troop ships from Brest to La Rochelle. The ships conducted a simulated bombardment of the port, neutralized the coastal defenses, and put some 6,000 men ashore. The next year, Hoche, Carnot, and Amiral Baudin were transferred to the Reserve Division in the Mediterranean Squadron. The ships in the Reserve Division were kept in a state of