Mamonova Yulia O.,
Independent Researcher, Novosibirsk, Russia, e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Russian Military Personnel in Manchuria During 1904–1905 as Seen by Foreign Correspondents: Professional Knowledge and Competencies
DOI: 10.31518/2618-9100-2018-2-10
The article is focused on the foreign war correspondents’ views on the professional knowledge, skills and competencies of Russian military personnel in Manchuria during the Russian-Japanese war of 1904–1905. The main sources for the research were the materials of representatives of British, German, French and Austro-Hungarian press published after their return from the theatre of war. Foreign witnesses of the Russian participation in the Russian-Japanese war of 1904–1905 in Manchuria tried to find the reasons for Japan’s success, consequently the issues of professional competence of the Russian soldiers and officers often were in the focus of their attention. The author reviews the evaluation of military training of Russian cavalry, infantry and artillery, taking into consideration citizenship and professional experience of foreign observers. Changing attitudes of foreign journalists to these issues have received considerable attention. Comparison of views of the war correspondents shows a lot of similarities between them. Many witnesses noted insufficient professional knowledge and competencies of Russian soldiers and non-commissioned officers. The reason for this was low level of literacy among enlisted men. As for the officers, estimates of their professional knowledge, skills and competencies vary considerably. The main cause for this was heterogeneity of the officer corps in the early 20th century.
Publishing: 19/12/2018
How to cite: Mamonova Y.O. Russian Military Personnel in Manchuria During 1904–1905 as Seen by Foreign Correspondents: Professional Knowledge and Competencies // Historical Courier, 2018, # 2. Article 10. [Available online:] http://istkurier.ru/data/2018/ISTKURIER-2018-2-10.pdf
Links: Issue 2 2018
Keywords: Russo-Japanese War, 1904–1905; foreign correspondents; military journalism; Russian army