Bussard-class cruiser was present in the Caribbean during the Spanish–American War in 1898, though she took no active role in the conflict. Between 1898 and 1900, "Bussard" and "Seeadler" were modernized in Germany. In 1900, "Seeadler" participated in the suppression of the Boxer Rebellion in China, including a blockade of the Chinese coast. In December 1902, "Falke" and the protected cruiser joined British forces in the Venezuela Crisis of 1902–03 after Venezuelan forces seized a British merchant ship. The two cruisers helped British warships bombard Venezuelan coastal fortifications and blockade the coast. "Cormoran" and "Geier" were modernized between 1907 and 1909; only
10th Armoured Brigade (United Kingdom) conversion, 10th Armoured Brigade received its first equipment. The War Diary records: 'The first two tanks arrived, two Vickers Medium tanks dated 1923 and 1924. These were not in going order, and were practically useless'. The brigade got its first cruiser tanks – four Covenanters – on 1 December, and over the next two years received a trickle of widely varied tanks, including Cruiser Mk I, Cruiser Mk II, Cruiser Mk IIa, Covenanter and Crusader cruiser tanks, Valentine and Churchill infantry tanks, and later some Sherman Vs. In May 1942, 10th Armoured Brigade left 42nd Armoured Division and the motor