Military Observers

[DesertFox]

Thinking about the movie "Gettysburg" and Lt Col Fremantle from the movie

 

What I am curious is if there are a set of standards which Observers from semi-neutral nations are expected to follow.

[Paul in Qatar]

Hard to figure. I suppose whatever standards we have now were still evolving at that point. I suppose they were supposed to be non-combatant. (I wonder why there seemed to be no observers on the Union side? The ACW was a darn big war, you would have thought the Europeans would have wanted to see it.)

[ABNredleg]

Freemantle was on leave from the British Army and wasn't serving in any official capacity - his biographer says he went to America for adventure. Apparently the French, British and Prussians all sent large numbers of officers to observe the fighting - Jay Luvass has written extensively about what the foreign observers took back to Europe.

 

The US also sent observers to European conflicts - McClellan was an official observer to the European armies during the Crimean War and Sheridan was an observer at Prussian headquarters during the Franco-Prussian War.

Edited November 24, 2007 by ABNredleg

[DesertFox]

I would be surprised if neutral parties did not often send observers into conflicts...even if not official, I am sure the British leadership was greatly interested in Fremantle's obversations.

[Jim Martin]

The USMC learned a good deal regarding amphibious warfare, by sending officers to be observers with the Imperial Japanese Army during the invasion of Manchuria. We designed the Higgins boat after a Japanese landing barge design with a dropping bow ramp.

 

Of course, Evans Carlson travelled with the Communist Chinese 8th Route Army, later using that experience to help from his Raider Battalion.

[shootER5]

I wonder why there seemed to be no observers on the Union side? The ACW was a darn big war, you would have thought the Europeans would have wanted to see it.)

 

 

That's Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin (second from right). He was an observer on the Union side.

 

I have a better photograph of him and his entourage in a book on artillery, but don't have it scanned.

[rmgill]

 

That's Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin (second from right). He was an observer on the Union side.

 

I have a better photograph of him and his entourage in a book on artillery, but don't have it scanned.

 

Seems like there needs to be a photo of him gawking at an observation balloon with a look of glee in his eye.

[Paul in Qatar]

I was expecting someone more cigar-shaped.