05.1944 -card to popunidbeno zapovjedništvo Bjelovar

 06.05.1944 postal card mailed from Zagreb to Zdenko Dobrinić, satnik(Captain) in popunidbeno zapovjedništvo Bjelovar (Replenishment(conscription) command in Bjelovar).The Bjelovar Replenishment Command was established on 13 April 1941. Until 5 May 1941, it was part of the Osijek Divisional Area, when according to the order of the Domobran Army Headquarters, it was subordinated to the Sava Divisional Area. With the reorganization of the military territorial division of the NDH, on 15 October 1941  it was subordinated to the 1.Domobran Military District in Petrinja, that relocated at the end of 1942 to Zagreb.

1944 - Italians in Wehrmacht feldpost to Istria, Croatia

When Italy surrendered in 9.1943 Croatia took back control over most of Dalmatia and sought to incorporate central and eastern Istria with Croatian majority to Croatia but Istria was left under Italian control of new fascist republic "Republica Socialista Italiana"(RSI) better known as Republic of Salo. To support its claim Croatia formed new Istria Domobran regiment. In January 1945 Germans agreed to transfer Istria to Croatian control, but this never happened as Croatia was battling Communist rebellion and invasion from the east. In autumn 1943 Germans imposed military control in Istria by forming Operationszone Adriatisches Küstenland (OZAK), civil control remained Italian under RSI. Italians lived mostly on the western coast of Istria where they were in majority and they served in RSI military units while some joined Wehrmacht. Below follow 3 feldpost letters mailed home from Italians in Wehrmacht to a places in western Istria. I found such mail to be quite rare.

 15.11.1944 letter from Wehrmacht, Fp.number badly visible, possibly Fp.81874 B(?)-Italianische Bau Batallion 33  to Umago, Pola  today Umag in Istria, Croatia.  German censor cancels in red.

24.02.1944 letter from Wehrmacht, Fp.39626 - 2. Italienisches Nebel Bataillon(Marine) - to Fasana d'Istria near Pola today Fažana, Croatia. German censor cancels in red. Arrival cancel Fasana d Istria Pola 3.3.1944. 

Italian 'Nebel' units were obcure military units armed with fog/smoke producing equipment. This fog was used to camouflage navy or army units from air raids. 2.Nebel Battalion was formed in Italy in 1942, later stationed in Reich on the Baltic sea, in Gotenhafen with outposts in Pillau and Memel.

23.01.1944 letter from Wehrmacht, Fp.24808 T  - to Valle d'Istria, Pola today Bale, Croatia. Bale is on the road from Rovinj to Pula. Fp.24808 was Sammelfeldpostnummer such a feldpost number was used by a various units in an area, usually a letter in the end denoted certain unit in the area. Fp 24808 was used in Orleans area in France and Fp.24808 T was used by Italienische Stellungsbau Pionier Kompanie 13.

German censor cancels in red.

9.1942 Panzerjäger Komp. Kroat.Inf.Ersatz Rgt.369. to Zagreb

 

25.09.1942 Feldpost letter from Fp.41700 M  used by Panzerjäger Kompanie,  Kroat.Infanterie Ersatz Regiment 369. in Stockerau, mailed to Zagreb, Croatia. German censorship. Ersatz Regiment 369 trained replacements for 369.Croatian Infantry Regiment fighting in Stalingrad at that time.

7.1916 KuK card from 96.Inf.Rgt. to Breznički Hum, Croatia

 

07.07.1916 K.u.K feldpost card from 15.company IV.battalion of  96.Infantry Regiment mailed via Fp.92. Fp.92 was used by 15.Infantry division then fighting in Galicia (Russian front). 96. IR was mainly manned by Croats from wider Karlovac area. This card was mailed to Zagorska sela then re-routed to Breznički Hum near Novi Marof in Varaždin area. Arrival cancel is at the back. No visible sign of censorship in the unit, but card was censored in Varaždin and marked by purple cancel. Text is in Croatian. This is the first card i have seen from 96.IR that was mailed from 15.inf.div via Fp.92.

10.1941 - Zagreb to 2. Zračna luka, Auto odred, Rajlovac

 

09.10.1941 letter from Zagreb to a member of 2. Zračna luka , Auto odred, Rajlovac (2. Air field, Motorised detachment, Rajlovac(near Sarajevo). Rajlovac was the most important airfield of Croatian air force in the whole country , it was used to attack communist and serbian insurgents in Bosnia. Airfield was almost exclusively used by Croatian air force , Luftwaffe used Butmir airfield near Sarajevo. Text is interesting sender writes that he is also going to serve in Air force,  as a pilot. 

02.1944 1. Polizei-Geschütz-Batterie Kroatien to Zagreb.

 

03.02.1944 Fp.56160 E/F to Zagreb , Croatia. Text in Croatian, SS censorship.

Norbert Kannapin in Die Deutsche Feldpost 1939-1945, list for  Fp.56160 following:

56160 (Unknown-Unknown) Stab u. 1.-3. u. 6. Panzer- Kompanie Polizei-Ausbildungs-Bataillon I (Esseg)

56160 (27.9.1943-7.5.1944) 2.11.1943 Stab u. Einheit Polizei-Ausbildungs-Bataillon I (Essgeg)

I assumed that letters after the number meant A - Stab, B-1.komp. C-2.komp. D-3.komp.  E- 6. Panzer- Kompanie, here we have F.  I have another letter from same sender mailed and marked Fp.56160 F, and in both letters sender writes his adress Gesch(utz) Bat(terie). 

German-Croatian Police had units  2 artillery units, first one with unknown Fp.number

Fp.??? 1. Polizei-Geschütz-Batterie Kroatien.

Fp.58954 (8.9.1943) 2. Polizei-Geschütz-Batterie Kroatien.

This letter proves that 1. Polizei-Geschütz-Batterie Kroatien used Fp.56160 E/F

07.12.2024 70.BARPER auction, KuK card from Constantinopole to 53.IR in Zagreb

On the 7.12.2024 yearly philatelic auction of BARPER auctionhouse was held in Zagreb. As usual there were some great items offered, including very strong WW2 Croatian feldpost section.

 

New stamp catalogue of Croatian stamps from WW2 (NDH) was presented. Its a great book with many new varieties and errors recorded. Catalogue is bilingual  in Croatian and English. 

You can order it from publisher  berislav.pervan@gmail.com

Catalogue front page

Inside of catalogue

I acquired some lovely items , below is KUK card fresh from auction.

1914 or 1915 postcard mailed from Pera, Constantinopole(Istanbul) in Ottoman empire. Mailed from a member of a KuK consulate to a member of K.u.K 53.Infantry Regiment stationed in Rudolf barracks in Zagreb, Croatia. 53.Inf.Rgt was KuK common army regiment that recruited mostly in and around Zagreb area, it was almost a pure Croatian unit.

Postcard was mailed via Ottoman post with ottoman stamp and cancels, also present is red censor cancel of censor office in Wien(Vienna) Austria.

10.1944 - Ersatz Bataillon 373 (Kroat.) To Reich

 24.10.1944 cover of a letter sent from Fp.39915 B to Leipzig in Reich. Fp.39915 B was used by  1.Kompanie Ersatz Bataillon 373 (Kroat.) of 373.Croatian "Tigar" division. Feldersatz Batallion 373. was stationed in Stockerau  and trained Croatian replacements for division. On this letter postal cancel with date has mark 'at' meaning it was used in Stockerau, letter was most likely mailed by one of Wehrmacht instructors with Ersatz batallion.

4.1942 Varaždin to Petrinjska Doknadna Bojna in Bosanski Novi

18.04.1942 parcel card for packet mailed from Varaždin to a member of 2.SAT PETRINJSKA DOKNADNA BOJNA(2nd. Company Petrinja replacement battalion) stationed in Bosanski Novi. Parcel content was "jestvine"- food. Old Yugoslav parcel card was used printed with mixed cyrillic and latin letters and Royal Yugoslav amblem at the top right. This is late usage of such a card. At the back franked with 2 and 5 kuna stamps, Mi.78 and Mi.79 that were sold from 09.04.1942 to 18.04.1942.  Also at the back is round puprple cancel 2.sat Petrinjska doknadna bojna and arrival cancel BOS.NOVI 20.04.1942.

Petrinjska doknadna bojna was formed in 7-8.1941 from 2.bojna 11.pješačke pukovnije(2.battalion,11. Infantry regiment). Doknadne bojne were inefficient and in 3-4.1942 were reorganised, Petrinjska doknadna bojna was transformed into Osnutak doknadne bojne 11.pješačke pukovnije.

9.1915 - K.u.K Seeflugstation Puntisella to Zagreb

 06.09.1915 K.u.K Marinefeldpost , postcard mailed from KuK Seeflugstation Puntisella (Naval aviation station Puntisella) to Zagreb, Croatia. Text is in Croatian. Puntisella or nowdays Puntižela is small place on the outskirts of Pula(Pola), KuK navy operated there one of their Seaplane stations on the Adriatic. Marinefeldpostamt Pola cancel is in black , red cancel reads K.u.K Seeflugstation Puntisella.  

12.1943- Beška to 13.SS.Div.Handschar(kroat.no1.) - 30 000 visits of blog.

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13.SS HANDSCHAR 

23.12.1943 letter from Beška in Srijem , Croatia to Heinrich Ewinger a  Hauptscharführer in 13.SS division Handschar(kroat no.1) Then the Division was in training in Neuhammer in Reich. Fp. 56156 D was used by 3.Batallion SS Freiwilligen Jager-Regiment 2 ,Division 13 (later rebranded to 28.Gebirgsjager-Regiment). SS censorhip marked with tape and green cancel.

I have seen a few letters mailed to and from this Croatian Volksdeutsche H.Ewinger while he was a member of Einsatzstaffel der Deutschen Mannschaft(ESDM) and later in Waffen SS. One document from 30.03.1943 made by leader of Deustche Volksgruppe in Kroatien, lists 40 officers from ESDM that are to be transfered to Waffen SS. H.Ewinger is listed under number 8. Rank - Fahnrich , born 16.03.1913, Serving as Zugfhr.Ver.Btl  (Verfügungsbataillon ESDM "Prinz Eugen" ,  active batalion of ESDM).

10.1943 letter to Domobranska središnja škola in Varaždin

 

01.10.1943 letter from Zagreb to a member of 1.bitnica topničkog sklopa,  Domobranska središnja škola (I.bit.top.sklopa D.S.Š) or 1.section of artillery battery of  Central Army School in Varaždin. School trained reserve army officers. Machine cancelled in Zagreb , arrival cancel Varaždin at the back.   Censor cancel CENZURA Br. 26 (Varaždin censor office) is applied on the cover and unusually on the contents of a letter, such marking was usual in German censor service but is very rare with Croatian censors. In 1943 Central Army school had two infantry battalions and one artillery battery a total of 760 men with 6 guns.

11.1915 KuK feldpost from 53.IR Dankl to Novi Slankamen in Sriem, Croatia

 02.11.1915(?) K.u.K feldpost card dated in text mailed from 1.company of 16.Replacement battalion(I./XVI.Marsch. komp) of 53.Infantry regiment. 53.IR recruited in Croatia mostly in area around Zagreb, but  this One Year volunteer was from Novi Slankamen. As noted in adress city is located in "Kroatien,Sriem, Slavonien", at the time it was mostly populated by Croats. Mailed via Fp.44 used by 36.Infantry division at the time figthing in Galicia. Text is in Croatian. 

Present are cancels : CENSURIERT - censored, Weiterleiten - forward( to be mailed), K.u.k I.R Dankl No.53 /  I./XVI.Marsch. komp : a units cancel , and hungarian- german canel: A hadrakelt seregrol / Von der Armee im Feld : from the army in the battlefield ( used to not reveil units location).