Her armament was reduced in size compared to the Amiral Baudins, and was placed in the lozenge arrangement that would be used for most French capital ships into the 1890s.

Hoche suffered from serious stability problems that resulted from her large superstructure and low freeboard, which required extensive work later in her career to correct.

She spent the next several years in a state with reduced crews, being activated to take part in training exercises with the rest of the fleet.

By that time, the Italian Regia Marina (Royal Navy) had begun its own expansion program under the direction of Benedetto Brin, which included the construction of several very large ironclad warships of the Duilio and Italia classes, armed with 450 mm (17.7 in) 100-ton guns.

The French initially viewed the ships as not worthy of concern, though by 1877, public pressure over the new Italian vessels prompted the Navy's Conseil des Travaux (Board of Construction) to design a response, beginning with the barbette ship Amiral Duperré and following with six vessels carrying 100-ton guns of French design.

The Amiral Baudins were too advanced in their construction to allow their design to be revised, but the other four vessels of the program, which became Hoche and the three Marceau-class ironclads, had not yet begun building.

Their design, which was prepared by the naval engineer Charles Ernest Huin, was radically altered from the Amiral Baudin arrangement to what would become the standard for future French capital ships for the next two decades.

The large caliber guns were increased to four, one forward, one aft, and a wing mount on either side amidships to maximize end-on fire (which was emphasized by those who favored ramming attacks).

The shipyard engineers proposed widening the beam and increasing displacement to correct the problem, but Hoche was too far advanced in construction to allow the necessary changes without breaking up the existing hull structure.

Huin accepted this change, but the additional weight of the turrets forced the hull to be lowered by a deck to retain sufficient stability.

Steam for the engines was provided by eight coal-burning fire-tube boilers that were ducted into a single wide funnel that were placed directly astern of the conning tower.

These were placed in a variety of locations, including in the fighting tops, in a small battery directly above the wing barbettes, and elsewhere in the superstructure.

[3] Her armor belt covered the entire length of the hull, and the central portion that protected her vitals—the propulsion machinery spaces and ammunition magazines—was 457 mm (18 in).

[13] During the fleet maneuvers of 1891, which began on 23 June, Hoche was assigned to the 2nd Division, 1st Squadron along with the ironclads Redoutable and Amiral Baudin.

[17] Hoche was transferred back to the Northern Squadron in 1895, by which time the coastal defense ironclads Bouvines, Amiral-Tréhouart, Jemmapes, and Valmy, along with the armored cruiser Dupuy de Lôme.

[18] That year, she and Dupuy de Lôme traveled to Kiel, Germany, to represent France at the opening ceremonies for the Kaiser Wilhelm Canal on 20 June.

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.

This scenario saw the protected cruisers Sfax and Tage simulate a hostile fleet steaming from the Mediterranean Sea to attack France's Atlantic coast.

[22] In early 1898, Hoche struck an uncharted rock in Quiberon Bay, which caused extensive damage to her hull.

Because of the significant repair work, the navy decided to place the ship in reserve and modernize her boilers, which had already been authorized in the 1898 budget, but had not yet been scheduled.

By that time, the squadron also included Masséna, the pre-dreadnought Carnot, and the ironclads Amiral Baudin, Formidable, and Courbet.

The ships conducted a simulated bombardment of the port, neutralized the coastal defenses, and put some 6,000 men ashore.

[30] The ships in the Reserve Division were kept in a state of readiness with reduced crews that could be completed with naval reservists for the annual fleet exercises (or in the event of war).

The maneuvers were conducted in the western Mediterranean, alternating between ports in French North Africa and Toulon and Marseilles, France, and concluding on 4 August.

[37] She was present for a major naval review held off Marseilles on 16 September that included British, Spanish, and Italian vessels.

[41] Hoche was ultimately expended as a target ship and, while towed at 6 knots by the cruiser Jules Michelet, she was sunk on 2 December 1913 south of Toulon by practice fire from the pre-dreadnought Jauréguiberry and the cruiser Pothuau, both equipped with experimental fire-control systems developed by Yves Le Prieur.