I often hear about 'observers' from non-aligned countries embedding with another country's military during wars. How did an officer go about requesting such an assignment? Did they offer services to army they were embedded with? | AskHistorians Archive Observer

I often hear about 'observers' from non-aligned countries embedding with another country's military during wars. How did an officer go about requesting such an assignment? Did they offer services to army they were embedded with?

by Clausewitz1996

I've read about British army officers, for instance, becoming observers during the American civil war and the Russo-Japanese war.

ChainedDog

I have been wondering this as well. In The Killer Angels the Army of North Virginia had several European observers attached. Their origins included England, Prussia, and Austria. How common of a practice was this? Why were these foreign observers allowed?