remained in active service with the Mediterranean Fleet in 1896. That year's maneuvers lasted from 6 to 30 July and took place off the coast of French Algeria. The next year, the ship was withdrawn from service to be modernized. The work included replacing her central main gun with a battery of four 163 mm guns in open single mounts. She also had her mainmast removed. Work on the ship was completed the next year, in time for Amiral Baudin to take part in the 1898 maneuvers, which lasted from 5 to 25 July. Later that year, she was transferred to the Northern Squadron in the English Channel, along with her sister, Amiral Duperré, Dévastation, Courbet, and Redoutable, since more modern pre-dreadnought battleships built in the mid-1890s had entered service by that time. Two of these new battleships— and —joined Amiral Baudin in the Northern Squadron in 1900, which at that time also included Formidable, Redoutable, and Amiral Duperré, though the latter two vessels were withdrawn from service to be modernized that year. In June and July that year, she participated in extensive joint maneuvers conducted with the Mediterranean Fleet. The Northern Squadron initially held its own maneuvers in Brest, which included a simulated blockade of the squadron in Brest, after which the squadron made mock attacks on the island of Belle Île and nearby Quiberon. In early July, the squadron met the Mediterranean Squadron off Lisbon, Portugal before the two units steamed north to Quiberon Bay and entered Brest on 9 July. Amiral Baudin and the rest of the Northern Squadron were tasked with attacking Cherbourg two days later. The maneuvers concluded with a naval review in Cherbourg on 19 July for President Émile Loubet. On 23 November, Amiral Baudin collided with the old cruiser , which had recently returned from a deployment to Madagascar; both vessels were damaged in the accident. The Northern Squadron remained unchanged for 1901, apart from the addition of Hoche. During the fleet maneuvers that year, the Northern Squadron steamed south for joint maneuvers with the Mediterranean Fleet. 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