The ships of I Squadron went on a pair of training cruises during 9–19 January and 27 February16 March 1905. Individual ship and squadron training followed, with an emphasis on gunnery drills. On 12 July, the fleet began a major training exercise in the North Sea. The fleet then cruised through the Kattegat and stopped in Copenhagen and Stockholm. The summer cruise ended on 9August; the autumn maneuvers that would normally have begun shortly thereafter were delayed by a visit from the British Channel Fleet that month. The British fleet stopped in Danzig, Swinemünde, and Flensburg, where it was greeted by units of the German Navy; "Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse" and the main German fleet were anchored at Swinemünde for the occasion. The visit's impact was lessened by the ongoing Anglo-German naval arms race. As a result of the British visit, the 1905 autumn maneuvers were shortened considerably, from 6to 13 September, and consisted of only exercises in the North Sea. The first exercise presumed a naval blockade in the German Bight, and the second envisioned a hostile fleet attempting to force the defenses of the Elbe. During the exercises, "Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse" won the Kaiser's "Schiesspreis" (Shooting Prize) for excellent gunnery in I Squadron. In October, the ship was reassigned to I Division of II Squadron. In early December, I and II Squadrons went on their regular winter cruise, this time to Danzig, where they arrived on 12 December. On the return trip to Kiel, the fleet conducted tactical exercises.