2.1944 Sanitats-Kompanie 392 (Kroatien) to Retfala(Osijek).

 

13.02.1944 card sent to Retfala (today part of Osijek) from Fp.31185 used by Sanitats-Kompanie 392 (Kroatien) of 392. Croatian (Blue) division. Card has no visible postal manipulation with only green censors markings present. 

Its possible that card traveled through postal system without any markings but its more likely that card was part of a letter as  german censors always marked every paper sheet in letter with such green censors numbers, hence postal cancels applied on the cover of the letter are not present.

6.1943 Parcel card to Command of Railway protection force "LIKA"

 

08.06.1943 parcel card for a packet mailed  from Delnice to a sergeant  in Radio station Ogulin that was part of  "Zapovjedničtvo Osiguranja željezničke mreže "LIKA" in Ogulin"( Command of Railway protection force "LIKA" ) with nice unit cancel in purple.

During the second half of 1942 , Command of Railway protection force "LIKA"  was formed with 3 Railway protection battalions , I. , II. and III. ŽESTRA bojna (Željezničarska Stražarska Bojna). It was part of Domobranstvo(Regular army).

Commands HQ was in Ogulin.

I.ŽESTRA bojna was in Brušani near Gospić, with 3 rifle companies and one Machinegun company - around 900 men

II.ŽESTRA bojna was in Oštarije near Ogulin  with 3 rifle companies and one Machinegun company - around 800 men

III.ŽESTRA bojna had HQ in Lešće near Otočac with 3 rifle companies and one Machinegun company - around 600 men

20.10.1918 - K.u.K IR.78 to Zagreb

20.10.1918 card from the 78.Infanterie regiment Gerba mailed via Fp.634 used by 36.Inf.division.Very late mailing date at the end of the Great War.

Regiment was Croatian unit in common K.u.K army. Recruting area was Slavonia. During entire war it was part of 36.Inf.Division, from 2.1918 it  fought on the Italian battlefield.

Rare charity feldpostkarte from regiment was mailed to Zagreb, text in Croatian is very interesting: " it is hard to die now after we stayed alive up to now in all this suffering. Here a spanish sickness(flue) is everywhere, oddly im still untouched by it". 

12.1943 - EXTREMELY RARE letter from German-Croatian Police (Deutsch-Kroatische Polizei)

 

10.12.1943 letter in very bad condition sent from Fp.56901 Gendarmerie Bezirksfuhrer Zlatar via Fp.58639 B - Kommandeur der Gendarmerie Agram (Dienststelle cancel) to Biškupec, then a village near Varaždin. SS censorship. Gendarmerie Bezirksfuhrer Zlatar was local, "district gendarmerie station" in small city of Zlatar.

THIS IS A EXTREMELY RARE LETTER!!!  

 MAIL FROM GERMAN-CROATIAN POLICE SENT FROM "Gendarmerie Bezirksfuhrer"  IS ALMOST UNKNOWN, I HAVE NEVER SEEN IT BEFORE.

I thought this was a uniqe cover, but I was told by mr.Pervan that late mr.Dietz had a couple of letters from Bezirksfuhrer in his collection.

NDH Feldpost forgeries

 

On September 10/11 an USA auction house sold "The Alfred F. Kugel Collection". There were some nice Croatian feldpost items in one big lot. In that lot the above pictured cards were sold. They look lovely, really great Feldopost cards. As usual, if it is to good to be true, it's not true.

 These cards are fake !  Forgeries made to deceive collectors!

About cards: 

1. Green Croatian Feldpostcards are original.

2.the round censor cancels are original, i have seen them applied on cards and letters in blue and purple colour but this is first time in black, probably they are in private hands.

3. Square cancel GSBP with smudged letters, on the left side of cards is fake.

4. Square cancel GSBP with clear letters, on the right side of cards is fake

5. Zagreb 1/60 cancel was seen on fake covers before, it is in private hands.

6. The Military stamps on covers have not been seen on original covers yet.(there is still hope we will see original covers with these stamps, but after 80 years it is really a tiny hope). The stamp with croatian amblem  was to be used on parcels and not on cards and letters. The other stamp with Neretva river is a forgery  itself.

7. Really interesting is Feldpost adress of reciever Fp.58207E - 4. Kompanie Genesenden Abteilung Kroat. Ausbildungs Brigade. On the 04.04.1945 (the date in the cancels!!) Kroat.Ausb.Brigade recieved orders to leave Stockerau , only 540 men sick with typhoid remainded there in Genesenden Abteilung (reconvalescent unit). These information was known to forgerer so he used Fp.58207 and not any other as other units were moving out of Stockerau. The last days of Kroat. Ausbildungs Brigade are described in Franz Schraml book: Kriegsschauplatz Kroatien. I'm sure forgerer had read it. Croatian translation of the book was published in 1993.

The German text of Franz Schraml : Kriegsschauplatz Kroatien is available here

https://znaci.org/00001/180.htm

K.u.K Marinefeldpost 11.1917 -S.M.S Prinz Eugen to Rajevoselo , Slavonia

07.11.1917 letter to Rajevoselo in Slavonia from SMS Prinz Eugen. Mailed via Marinefeldpostamt Pola, cancel in the upper right corner. In the middle is purple censor cancel from SMS Prinz Eugen. This is a variant of cancel used during early to mid 1917 , this variant was used only in November 1917 (according to Kohl/Kalis:"Die Feldpost der k. u. k. Kriegsmarine im 1. Weltkrieg 1914/18) For earlier  variant see: https://feldpost-croatia.blogspot.com/2023/04/61917-kuk-marinefeldpost-sms-prinz.html

1.1943 - 106.Infanterie-Division of Wehrmacht to Osijek, Croatia.

 

15.01.1943 Feldpost letter from Fp.05130 D to Osijek Croatia. Fp.05130D was used by  3. Kompanie, I.Bataillon, Grenadier Regiment 239 of  106.Infanterie-Division. 106.Infantry division was withdrawn from the Eastern front in May 1942 and relocated to France for replenishment in the St. Omer, Calais, Boulogne-sur-Mer area, on the La Manche coast . In February 1943, it returned to the Eastern Front in the Kharkov area.

This letter was mailed by Croatian Volksdeutsche soldier to home in Osijek,  Croatia, just before transfer from France back to Russian front.  Text is in German. Regular german censorship marks are both on the cover and the letter sheet, also on both pieces are present blue marks of chemical censorship. Arrival cancel Osijek 26.01. is on the backside.

HRVATSKI POMORSKI ODJEL - KROATISCHE MARINE ABTEILUNG - CROATIAN NAVAL LEGION

17.08.2024 marked  5 years since I started this blog, for this occasion one special text follows.

 On the 09.07.1941 Hrvatski pomorski odjel(Croatian naval legion) was formed with Andro Vrkljan as its commander to serve under Kriegsmarine on the Black sea. Note about units name: offical German name was Kroatische marine abteilung, several Croatian names were used officially: Hrvatski pomorski odjel(aministration,cancels)  Hrvatska pomorska legija(on the units badge) and Hrvatski Pomorski sklop na Crnom moru(adminstration). In the beginning all the personel were Croats from former Royal Yugoslav Navy. Members were transfered from Croatia to Varna(Bulgarian port on the Black sea)in several goups from several places: 

1. group on 17.07.1941 with 120 men(from Zagreb).

2. group in 08.1941 with 88 men(from Zagreb?).

3. group on 27.09.1941 with 52 men(from Sisak).

4. group in 1.1942 with 82 men(from Zemun).

Legion served on Black and Azov sea until in returned to Croatia on 21.05.1944, officially it was disbanded on 23.05.1944.  Units total strength was around 340 men, it was assigned Fp.number 23713 . Not a single member of the Croatian Naval Legion ever switched sides and deserted to Soviets.

Due to units small size feldpost from legion is very rare. Below follows a small collection of letters sent from one of its members, Obermachinen maat (Machinist's Mates)  Šemsudin Ruždijić to a lady friend in Zagreb. His path from Yugoslav Royal navy to Legion is typical for all members.

22.01.1940 letter sent from Đenović, while he was a cadet in 25.class of Mašinska škola(Machinist school) in Kumbor in Royal Yugosla Navy. He writes that he is serving on a ship named "Zagreb" ( a destroyer).

31.07.1941. This letter was mailed via Fp.34437 Stützpunkt-Kompanie Admiral Südost, badly visable is purple cancel on the left. (All early mail from 7.1941 bears this cancel with Fp.34437). He was in the 1.group that left Zagreb and arrived in Varna. In letter he states he couldn't write from Sofia as they weren't told their feldpost adress! Now he writes it is Fp.23713. German censorship.

07.11.1941 letter from Fp.23713 but without feldpost cancels, dated in text. German censorship. Text is usual greetings.

05.03.1942 small size letter from Fp.23713 but without feldpost cancels, dated in text. German censorship. Text is interesting, location of writing Azovsko more( Sea of Azov), he states he didnt recieve a letter from her in 7 months. She marked all letters when she recived them, this one mailed 05.03 arrived on 15.05.1942.

08.07.1942 letter carried in person to Croatia than mailed loco in Zagreb, cover has red cancel Feldpostnummer but without number.

20.11.1942 letter from Fp.23713 mailed via Luftfeldpost , marked with such stamp. German censorship, wrongly marked as recieved on 20.11.1942.

08.04.1943 letter from Fp.23173 , with nice Feldpost and units Fp.nummer-Briefstempel cancels . In text location noted as Crno more (Black sea). German censorship. 

08.07.1943 letter carried in person to Croatia then mailed from Slavonski Brod to Zagreb, dated in text, Fp.23713 noted at the back. Postal cancel 20.07. Regretably someone cut out Croatian stamp. Censored by Croatian censorship, purple square cancel is most likely Cenzura br.45 (censor office in Slavonski Brod). Text is very interesting, location of writing is noted as Varna(Bulgaria), he states that he is regularly sailing on route from Varna to Konstanca(Constanța,Romania) and back. It was one of Legions regular duties: convoy protection, minesweeping or antisubmarine patrole.

The one and only book that deals with Croatian naval legion is this one "Hrvatski Argonauti 20 stoljeća" written by Legions commander Andro Vrkljan(1902-1995) long after the war. It was published in Croatian in 2011.

1915 and 1918- K.u.K Feldpost from fortress of st.Nikola in Šibenik to Fiume (Rijeka)

 

26.11.1915 and 15.1.1918 two feldpost cards from fortress of st.Nicolas(Sv.Nikola) in front of Šibenik to Fiume(Rijeka) in Croatia. Sender and recipient have same Croatian surname Franković(Frankovich) but text is in Italian. Two different fortress purple cancels read K.u.K Kommando des Seeforts S.Nicolo, also 2 different Šibenik cancels are present. Fortress was build in 1540.-1547 to guard sea approach to Šibenik. Last army to actively used the fort until 1918  was Austro-Hungarian. When completed fortress housed 32 guns but has never seen active fighting.  Below are some photos of the fort from the summer of 2023 and 2024.  

2024. view of the roof of the fortress

2024. gun emplacement

2023 back view

2024 view from fortres over channel of Sv.Ante to Jadrija lighthouse on the other side of the channel

2023 side view

2023 back view

2023 land view of fortress and land approach to it by crossing shallow sea.

2024 inside of fortress

4.1915 - K.u.K, 79.Inf.Rgt "Graf Jellačić" to Lovran , Croatia

 06.04.1915 Feldpost card from K.u.K Otočaner Infanterie regiment Graf Jellačić No.79 to Lovrana (Lovran) on the east coast of Istria in Kvarner Bay.  Mailed va Fp.111 that served 7. Infantry division fighting in Galicia. 

Interestingly someone put a wrong date in the canceller and applied Fp. cancel on the right with wrong year and month in it.  It was noted so cancel was crossed with blue pencil, and a new correct Fp. cancel is on the left.  Sender is an Oberst(Colonel)in regiment and writes to his wife in Villa Else in Lovran, Villa is still in use today as an luxurious turist accomodation. Although surname on the card in Croatian, text is in German. 

4.1944 card Osijek to 2.posadni sat Petrovaradin(7.posadni zdrug)

 03.04.1944 Easter card(Easter was on 09.04.1944) from Osijek to a Domobran in Petrovaradin. On card is written 2.posadni sat, Dunav or 2nd garrison company ,Danube. In Petrovaradin was stationed 2.sat IV.bojna, 7.posadni zdrug (2nd company, 4th battalion of 7th garrison brigade). 

In 1944, 7.posadni zdrug did garrison duty in Srijem: 

HQ, Signal company and pioneer company were in Hrvatska Mitrovica

1.battalion was in Ruma 

2.battalion was in Trpinja

3.battalion was in Hrvatska Mitrovica

4.battalion was in Petrovaradin (2.sat in Petrovaradin, 3.sat in Hrvatska Kamenica)

7.1944 - Regiment 1.Brandenburg in Croatia(Dalmatia) to Berlin.

 

30.07.1944 letter from Fp.25722 C - 6.kompanie II. Batallion of Regiment 1. Brandenburg Division to Berlin. In March 1944 Regiment 1. Brandenburg with II and III. batallion was transfered from Greece to Croatia, in area between Knin - Benkovac - Trogir in northern Dalmatia, I. Batallion arrived two months later. Regiment served as a mobile reserve in case of anticipated Allied landing on Croatian Adriatic coast that never happened. Therefore Brangerburger's were solely used in counterinsurgency actions against Partisan communist guerillas. In September 1944  Regiment 1. Branderburg was transfered out of Croatia to Serbia to fight advancing  Red Army.

New Acta Philatelica Nova 2023 and an interesting K.u.K navy card.

 

New 'Acta Philatelica Nova 2023' came out last week , my article about Feldpost of K.u.K. Croatian division - 42.domobranska "Vražja" divizija (42.Landwher Infanterie division -'Devils division') was published in Acta. Inside are some very interesting philatelic aricles, and  Acta is bilingual magazine written in Croatian and English. You can order it directly  from publisher Marka Nova philatelic shop, email:  berislav.pervan@gmail.com

Below follows a beautiful KUK navy card from before WW1.

11.12.1894 card posted from Lagos (today Nigeria) to Hector Račić a cadet on S.M.S Laudon in Pola. Transit cancel Liverpool UK 12.01.1895 , arrival cancel Pola 15.01.1895

At the back is a pencil note that this card was mailed by a crew member of  SMS Donau during its voyage  1894/5, when ship visited  Tangier, Tenerife, St. Louis in Sengal, Dakar, Freetown, Siera Leon, Lagos, Duala and Bahia. It is impossible to verify this from the card, but is also likely.

SMS Laudon was renamed SMS Schwarzenberg in 1900 and served as a  Navy school training hulk in Sebenico during WW1.

SMS Donau become a Navy school training hulk in Sebenico in 1905, and served in this capacity during WW1.