Military attachés and observers in the Russo-Japanese War
Military attachés and observers in the Russo-Japanese War were foreign observers who oversaw the 1904–1905 Russo-Japanese War. Observers from several nations took part, and their reports influenced subsequent military strategy in future conflict, including World War I.
Western military attachés and war correspondents with the Japanese forces after the Battle of Shaho (1904): 1. Robert Collins; 2. David Fraser; 3. Capt. Adalbert Dani von Gyarmata und Magyar-Cséke; 4. Capt. James Jardine; 5. Frederick McKenzie; 6. Edward Knight; 7. Charles Victor-Thomas; 8. Oscar Davis; 9. William Maxwell; 10. Robert MacHugh; 11. William Dinwiddie; 12. Frederick Palmer; 13. Capt. Berkeley Vincent; 14. John Bass; 15. Martin Donohoe; 16. Capt. ____; 17. Capt.
Japanese Minister of the Navy Admiral Yamamoto visiting the captured city of Dalny, just north of Port Arthur, in December 1904. Accompanying the Minister were several Western observers, including Italian naval attaché Ernesto Burzagli, who photographed the inspection tour.
Japanese General Kuroki Tamemoto and his staff were photographed with Western military attachés and war correspondent observers after the Battle of Shaho (1904). The most senior of the military attachés, Gen. Sir Ian Hamilton, center, stands with left hand in a coat pocket and a stick tucked under his right arm.
Italian naval attaché Ernesto Burzagli aboard a Japanese naval vessel at Yokohama en route to Port Arthur during the Russo-Japanese War (1904).
A military attaché or defence attaché is a military expert who is attached to a diplomatic mission, often an embassy. This type of attaché post is normally filled by a high-ranking military officer, who retains a commission while serving with a diplomatic mission. Opportunities sometimes arise for service in the field with military forces of another sovereign state. The attaché has the privileges of a foreign diplomat.
The Chilean defense attaché in Panama, at left, receiving a briefing on the armament of the USS Freedom from the ship's executive officer in 2010