Who were the military attaches at Bucharest?, 1939-1940-1941

Who were the military attaches at Bucharest in those years, from France and United Kingdom? I know about Germany - colonels Wahle and Gerstenberg, but the rest?

Just prior and after the start of the European war (1939-1940) the German and the French military attaches in Bucharest were col. Wahle and col. Delhomme, according to Romania dupa marea unire, vol 2, 1988.

Thanks! I studied that book - the volume 2.2, more precisely, but given the enormity of it (over 1300 pages of "communist wooden language" / limbă de lemn), I might have overlooked this detail! What was his first name?

I know what you mean However, given the fact that the kind of language is interspersed with raw archive data and memoirs, is it even more bearable that some of the modern books. Still, the 1200-1300 pages thing could not be aleviated in any way

I'm going to search for the guy's first name in the final name index, since I did not find it mentioned in the book. I accidentally stumbled upon it while reading some accounts of Romania's final days before the start of the war in 1939, when Calinescu and Slavescu repeatedly summoned him in order to accelerate the delivery of the French military materials bought by Romania - which he apparently did.

This post has been edited by Agarici on January 17, 2011 07:38 pm

Old news for MMM: an entry in Victor Slăvescu's Jurnal (Însemnări zilnice) from 22 February 1939 (in „Magazin Istoric" no. 262, January 1989) quotes: „Lunch at [lieutenant-]colonel [G. A. C.] Macnab, the English military attaché. Very pleasant interior. He must be a heavy drinker”/La dejun la [locotenent-]colonelul [G. A. C.] Macnab, ataşatul militar englez. Foarte agreabil interior. El trebuie să fie foarte mare beţiv”

Thanks! It's not "that old news", as I still may use it! Actually, it seems that Macnab was the attaché at Sofia; for Bucharest and Belgrade there was a lieutenant-colonel C.S. Clarke, at least according to this site:
Attachés

This post has been edited by MMM on September 04, 2011 07:47 am

What about Japan? Did they have embassy in Bucharest in the 1930's and during the war?
At the Thesaurus section of the Museum of History in Bucharest, there are some Japanese medals, possible preceding WWII and offered to a Romanian king.

AFAIK, yes, they had an embassy, since 1922. Anyway, this issue is of no immediate interest to my research, so I'd have to look further on...
Ro-Jp

This post has been edited by MMM on September 05, 2011 07:05 am

From: Jurnalul Maresalului Antonescu, Vol.I 4.IX1940-31.XII.1941 by Gh. Buzatu, Stela Cheptea, Marusia Cârstea

page 76/77
Luni, 21 octombrie 1940xxxii
19,00 - Audienţă de prezentare a Ataşatului Militar japonez114
(114 Colonelul Fudzitsuka.)

page 149
Joi, 6 februarie 1941cv
19,00 - Ataşatul Militar al Japoniei: predă o sabie Domnului General Antonescu în semn de omagiu.

page 517/518
- În urma publicării decretelor-regale nr. 2 352/1941 şi nr. 2 352 bis/1941 privind înălţarea
Generalului Ion Antonescu la demnitatea de Mareşal al României şi, respectiv, acordarea Ordinului
„Mihai Viteazul” clasa I-a, oficiate personal de Regele Mihai I la 23 august 1941, la Tighina, cel
de-al III-lea Mareşal al României a beneficiat de omagii în presă şi la radio, iar pe adresa sa
au parvenit nenumărate mesaje, adunate cu grijă de colaboratorii săi din cadrul Cabinetului Militar
într-un dosar special, intitulat Scrisori şi telegrame primite de Dl. Mareşal Ion Antonescu cu ocazia
înălţării Domniei Sale în grad (August 1941) (ANIC, fond PCM - CM, dosar 574/1941, 943 file),
printre expeditori aflându-se, potrivit opisului dosarului (f. 1-22), 299 persoane:
[...]
General Fudzitsuka, ataşatul militar al Japoniei la Bucureşti,
col. Corrado Valfre di Bonzo, ataşatul militar al Italiei la Bucureşti,
[...]

page 535
ccc 20 octombrie 1941
- Mesaj de felicitare din partea Generalului S. Fudzitsuka, ataşatul militar al Japoniei la Bucureşti,
către Ion Antonescu, cu prilejul căderii Odessei (ANIC, fond PCM - CM, dosar 563/1941, f. 228).
Răspunsul lui Antonescu (ibidem, f. 227).

From: Jurnalul Maresalului Antonescu, Vol.II 1.I.1942-30.VI.1943 by Gh. Buzatu, Stela Cheptea, Marusia Cârstea

page 178
Joi, 30 iulie 1942
12,10 - Înmânează D-lui Mareşal decoraţia „Marele Ordin al Coroanei Regelui Zvonimir”:
[...]
- Dl. Branco Benzon - Ministrul Croaţiei,
- Dl. Col. Navratil - Ataşatul Militar al Croaţiei,

page 192
Vineri, 11 septembrie 1942 (la vilă)cxvi
18,00 - Dl. Colonel Navratil - Ataşat Militar Croat.

page 194
Vineri, 18 septembrie 1942 (la vilă)
11,30 - Dl. Comandor Giuseppe Bestagno - ataşat naval al Italiei în România cu reşedinţa
la Ankara: prezentare.

page 195
Miercuri, 23 septembrie 1942cxxi
12,00 - Dl. Lt. Colonel Gino Palmentala - Ataşatul Militar Aeronautic Italian: oferă un
album cu fotografii din partea aeronauticii italiene.

page 199
Vineri, 9 octombrie 1942cxxxi
12,30 - Prezentare de plecare şi sosire în post, fostul şi noul ataşat militar al Franţei:
- Dl. Lt. Col. le Trater,
- Dl. Lt. Col. Lafaille.

page 233
Joi, 21 ianuarie 1943 (la Preşedinţie)
10,50 - Dl. Col. Spalcke - Ataşat Militar german: o comunicare din partea Führerului.

page 244
Sâmbătă, 20 februarie 1943ccxxix (la vilă)
10,30 - Prezentare pentru plecare şi sosire:
- Dl. Lt. Col. Palmentola - vechiul Ataşat Militar Aeron. Italian,
- Dl. Lt. Col. Cezare de Porto - noul Ataşat Militar Aeronaval italian.

page 273
13,30 - Dejun la vilă. Invitaţi D-nii:
- General de Armată Francesco Grazioli,
- Mario Panza - Cons. de Legaţie,
- Lt. Col. Conte Corrado Moncada di Paterno - din Min. Răz.,
- Renato Bova Scoppa - Ministrul Italiei la Bucureşti,
- Piotri Gerbore - Prim-secretar al Leg. Italiene,
- Colonel Giuseppe Bodini - Ataşat Militar al Italiei,
[...]

I hope the above list is of any help.
Regards!

Thanks! Very well-documented research!

My thanks to "ionionescu" and to "MMM".

Well, Slavescu does mention several times Macnab as the British military attaché in Romania, I don't think he was mistaking.

The full names and titles: Etienne Delhomme, colonel (promoted to brigadier-general at 10 September 1939) and Geoffrey A. C. Macnab, lieutenant-colonel.

Slavescu also mentioned the assistant/deputy of Delhomme, a certain major Daru, who was a part of the French Military Mission in Moldova during WW 1, being detached to the 10th Vanatori (Chasseurs) Regiment, and being awarded with the Romanian „Mihai Viteazul" order/medal in that campaign.

Something funny: the former mistress of the chief of Gestapo for Romania got married with the chief of the American mission to Romania (after the war) and she left with her husband to the U.S.

That I learned from an exchange of messages on www.feldgrau.net, about 9 years ago.