Charlemagne Class Battleship - Careers

Careers

Charlemagne, the first ship completed, was initially assigned to the Northern Squadron (escadre du Nord), but all three ships were assigned to the Mediterranean Squadron during 1900. Saint Louis became the flagship of the squadron almost as soon as she reached Toulon and all three participated in a number of port visits and naval reviews. Shortly after her arrival in Toulon, Gaulois accidentally rammed the destroyer Hallebarde and later rammed the battleship Bouvet in 1903, none of the ships involved were seriously damaged. In 1901, Gaulois and Charlemagne participated in the occupation of Mytilene in an effort for force the Turkish Sultan, Abdul Hamid II, to enforce contracts made with French companies and to repay loans made by French banks. Charlemagne was the French contribution to an international squadron that briefly occupied Mytilene in November–December 1905 for much the same purposes. Together with the battleships Iéna and Bouvet, Gaulois aided survivors of the April 1906 eruption of Mount Vesuvius in Naples.

All three ships were transferred to the Northern Squadron in 1909–10 and Saint Louis was accidentally rammed by the destroyer Poignard during manoeuvers off Hyères in 1911. Repairs were combined with a major refit later in the year. She accidentally rammed the submarine Vendémiaire on 8 June 1912 off the Casquets, killing all 24 of the submarine's crew. Her sisters received their refits during 1912–13. All three ships were transferred back to the Mediterranean Fleet after their refits, although their exact assignments differed. Saint Louis became a divisional flagship and Charlemagne was assigned to the Training Division. The Navy intended to assign Gaulois to the Training Division in October 1914, but the war intervened.