The next day, "Dunkerque" sortied to take part in maneuvers with the Atlantic Squadron off the Brittany coast; another stint in the shipyard for repairs followed from 17 March to 3 April. Gunnery training off the coast of Brittany from 4 to 7 April. In response to the Sudetenland Crisis over Nazi Germany's demand to annex the Sudetenland region of Czechoslovakia, the French naval command sent elements of the Atlantic Squadron, including "Dunkerque", three light cruisers, and eight large destroyers, on 14 April to cover the training cruiser as it returned from a cruise to the French West Indies; at the time, a German squadron centered on the large heavy cruiser was off the coast of Spain. The ships returned to port two days later. On 24 April, the squadron was joined by "Dunkerque"s sister ship ; the two ships were designated the 1st Battle Division. The ships received identification stripes on their funnels, one for "Dunkerque" as division leader, and two for "Strasbourg".