These ships were employed as fleet scouts and colonial cruisers. Several of the ships served with the German East Asia Squadron, and , , and took part in the Battle of Taku Forts in 1900 during the Boxer Rebellion. During a deployment to American waters in 1902, participated in the Venezuelan crisis of 1902–1903, where she bombarded Fort San Carlos. Long since obsolete by the outbreak of World War I, the five "Victoria Louise"-class vessels briefly served as training ships in the Baltic but were withdrawn by the end of 1914 for secondary duties. "Kaiserin Augusta" and the two "Irene"-class cruisers similarly served in reduced capacities for the duration of the war. All eight ships were broken up for scrap following Germany's defeat.