10.07.1943 damaged envelope of an letter mailed from 2nd Croatian Legion that was training in Riva del Garda to Split Croatia, at the time named Spalato in Italian occupied Dalmatia . Nice croatian cancel II.Hrvatska legija in purple. Italian civilian cancel Riva and censorship marks are present.
1944(?) letter from Fp.00691 Regimentsstab "Polizei Freiwilligen Regiment Kroatien" (Rgt.3) to Znaim in the Großdeutschland Reich today Znojmo a town in the South Moravia, Czech Republic. There in no clear date on the envelope but SS Feldpost is written on it thus the letter was surely sent from "Polizei Freiwilligen Regiment Kroatien" , it was part of SS German-Croatian police that marked its mail as SS Feldpost.
Regimentsstab Polizei-Regiment Kroatien used Fp.32555 from 1943 , I think but I can't prove it that Fp.00691 was used by Polizei Freiwilligen Regiment 3. (Kroatien)
Small collection of 4 letters mailed from GbAR 13 Haubitz division/abteilung (croatian: 13.gorsko-topnička pukovnija ,english: 13 mountain artillerie regiment) to Croatia.
Letters mailed :
10.09.1916 Fp.85 - 7.Gebirgsbrigade to Šemovci near Virje
29.01.1917 Fp.382(Fp.85) - 22.Gebirgsbrigade(7.Gebirgsbrigade) to Požega
02.02.1917 Fp.636 - 7.Gebirgsbrigade to Požega
06.01.1918 Fp.473 - Quartiermeister.abteilung 6.Armee to Zagreb
Mail from GbAR 13 is scarce , very interesting are letters from 1917 mailed just a few days apart but units Fp. number changed. Units often changed its Fp.numbers making it hard to make exact lists of Fp. Numbers that each K.u.K unit used. At the end of the war GbAR 13 returned to Ogulin where it was disbanded.
09.02.1943 card mailed from German unit via German feldpost to a Domobran in Zagreb, text in Croatian, censored by OKW censorship. Unfortunately german units Fp. number in cancel is unreadable, but as croatian card was used sender was most probably in Croatia. Such usage of Croatian civilian cards in German Feldpost is very very rare.
Ships fate is very interesting. SMB 81-T was given to Romania after WW1 and renamed SBORUL. It served with Romanians until it was captured by Soviets in 1944 and then used by the Soviet navy against Romanians under name MUSSON. Ship was returned to Romania on 22 September 1945 and continued to serve under name SBORUL until 1958 when she was scrapped.
29.09.1943 Feldpost card from Erg.und.ers Abteilung der Kroatische Flaklegion in Wiener-Neustadt to Fp59706(Feldkommandatur 1019, Macerata, Italy). Beautiful unit cancel. Text in German language probably from an instructor in the Flaklegion to his brother. All mail from flak legion is extremly rare.
One reader of this blog mr.Branimir Pešut left a note on my first post about Croatian flak legion. English translation follows below Croatian text:
" Školovanje dijela vojnika za Hrvatsku FLAK legiju bilo je u Wiener Neustadtu. Tamo je bio moj otac 1943....Poslije su ih poslali u Oldenburg, Kirchellen... zarobljen kod Hamburga od strane 8. britanske armije 1945."
"Some soldiers of the Croatian FLAK legion were trained in Wiener Neustadt. My father was there in 1943... Later they were sent to Oldenburg, Kirchellen... he was captured near Hamburg by members of 8th.British Army in 1945."
THIS FELDPOST CARD ONLY CONFIRMS WHAT MR.PEŠUT WROTE.
20.12.1915 Feldpost card from SMS Arpad to Zagreb , text in Croatian.
Arpad was Habsburg class battleship with crew of 630 men. It took part in bombardment of Ancona on 23.05.1915 after Italy entered war and later in 1917 took short part in bombardment on Italian battlefield, but most of the war was stationed in Pula(Pola) naval base. MFP Pola cancel and Arpad Dienststemple.
9.1944 registered official feldpost letter from Fp.16296A, Stab Pionier-Bataillon 392 (Kroat.) Inf.division to BERLIN. Kenn number 771 in Feldpost cancel and on R-sticker.
Registered mail from 392. Croatian Infantry division is very rare.
2 letters from 1943 sent from Italian "Regia Accademia di Artiglieria e Genio"( Royal Academy of Artillery and Engineers) from Lucca to Zagreb Croatia .
Croatian soldiers/officers were trained in Italy as well as Germany , an unknown number of officers was training with "Regia Accademia di Artiglieria e Genio" in Torino In November of 1942 due to intensive aerial bombardment , Accademia was moved from Torino to Lucca. This Croatian soldier Zvonko Barić writes to fellow soldier Ivo Košutić.
1st.letter is from 3.1943 (two lower pics) mailed to Zastavnik(Fähnrich) Ivo Košutić in Zagreb, Academy cancel and Italian censor cancel at the back of envelope.
2nd. is from 5.1943 (two upper pics) mailed to Zastavnik(Fähnrich) Ivo Košutić a member of 3.bojna 2.Gorskog zdruga (3.battalion, 2nd Mountain brigade) in Zagreb, letter was redirected to Jablanica, last post office Konjic in Herzegovina. Academy cancel and Italian censor cancels are at the back of envelope,as well as Zagreb arrival cancel.
Mail from Italian military academies to Croatia is very very rare.
I have seen another cover mailed to Ivo Košutić by same sender, there his name is written Ivan Košutić. It is possible that this is Ivan Košutić(1921-1998) author of books about Croatian Domobranstvo in NDH, he served in Domobranstvo as well. Interesting thing about covers is that on the back of envelopes are written details from senders Croatian passport. He is from Đakovčka Satnica , a village near Đakovo , Ivan Košutić was from Punitovci a village near Đakovo maybe 2-3 km away from Đakovačka Satnica.. this could easily be letter mailed to him from a local friend...
07.06.1944 parcel card mailed from Osijek to Brčko ,to a Domobran, member of 2.sat. II Doknadna Opkoparska bojna.( 2nd company of 2nd Pioneer Replacement Battalion). Arrival cancel Brčko , and units cancel at the back of the card, with archaic spelling Obkoparska bojna.
Certificate by prof.Ercegović from 1983.
15.12.1942 card from member of VII. Gorski Zdrug in Bruck an der Leitha to Đakovo, NDH . VII.Gorski zrdug was disbanded during its formation and training in Austria at the end of 1942. Men were used to from a core of a new 373 kroat.inf.division(Tigar division) in early 1943. OKW censorship. Sender is member of Dojavna sat(Signal company)- as he writes it Nachrichten kompanie in Gebirgs(mountain) brigade.
A small collection of extra rare Croatian Feldpost . 4 letters in quite poor condition but still very interesting as all have contents . Mailed from Brod n/S (today Slavonski Brod) to Zagreb in 1945
All were mailed from Marica Halgaš to Razvodnik(Obergefreiter) Emil Huzjak serving with Fp.1243/5 in Zagreb. 2 letters carry Postal cancel Zagreb it is probable they were carried in person from Brod to Zagreb and then mailed (letters contents confirm this).
Dates on covers are: a)30.01.1945, b)14.02.1945, c)26.02.1945, d)20.03.1945
Covers were censored , all carry white sticker "GLAVNA STOŽERNA BOJNA POŠTA / OTVORENO-PREGLEDANO" in place where letters were open. These stickers are much rarer then stickers that carry abbreviations G.S.B.P Three covers also carry purple straight cancel PREGLEDNO/Glavna sabirna bojna pošta . Letter from 20.03.1945 has round censor cancel Glavna sabirna bojna pošta 2 applied on the content. Such censor marking applied on text was usual with Reich services but is almost unknown with Croatian censors, they applied censor marks on the cover.
Text is interesting, in first letter writer describes terrible air raid(with 7 waves) on Brod n/S with many people killed and describes town in ruins , in later letters she is asking how are things in Zagreb as it was bombed as well.
THIS IS EXTREMELY RARE CROATIAN FELDPOST !
05.07.1942 letter to Zagreb NDH from Fp.L36348 which is 15. Staffel Jagdgeschwader 52. or more commonly known as Croatian Air Force Legion, fighter wing. Feldpost cancel on the front is unclear, but text says "greetings from the most beautiful city in Russia from Kiev". Sender is Stjepan Puzar, war reporter(kriegsberichter) with the unit. OKW censorship marks, german folding feldpost letter was used.
Mail from Croatian legion, especially Air force legion(Hrvatska zrakoplovna legija) is very very scarce.
09.05.1944 rare Croatian Feldpost card (Dopisnica za bojnu poštu) . These cards written in three languages( Croatian,German and Italian) were issued shortly before Italian surrender in 9.1943. They were disliked by Croatian soldiers and rarely used, just a couple of them are known to be postally used. This one was used by Domobran stationed around Hum Poljice ,a railway stations on old railway line running parallel to the adriatic coast in Dubrovnik hinterland in Herzegovina. Mailed to a small village Trsteno with postark Orašac.
16.11.1943 card from Fp.06692 E , 8.company. II.Battalion, 846 Regimente, 392. Inf. Kroat.division. to Podravske Sesvete, Croatia. OKW censorship.
At the back of the cover blue line of german chemical censorship, which is rare on feldpost to Croatia.
28.06.1943 letter to Podravske Sesvete , Croatia from Kroatische Ausbildungs Brigade. Sender writes his adress as Fp.57364 E which is 4.company III.Ausbildungs Bataillon Kroat. Ausb-Brigade that was located in Hollabrunn. Letter was mailed from hospital - cancel Reserve Lazarett Hollabrunn, in text soldiers writes that he is ill and is in a hospital.
With usual Censor marks present on the cover and on the text page , chemical censorship marks are present as blue lines at back of the cover and across the text. Such letters with chemical censorship marks mailed from Kroat.Ausbildungs Brigade are very rare.
14.06.1944 card from Fp.06692 E , 8.company. II.Battalion, 846 Regimente, 392. Inf. Kroat.division.
Very curious thing about this letter is that it was mailed to outside of Croatia to Vizvar, Hungary (Magyarország). Mail posted to countries other then Croatia and the Reich is extremely rare from any of Croatian divisions in Wehrmacht. This soldiers mail is regularly found , he writes to his family in Podravske Sesvete. This letter is to Vizvar a Hungarian place on the border with Croatia and which is just a few kilometers away from Podravske Sesvete. Censor marks are on the cover and on the text as was usually done by OKW censorship.
04.12.1942 card to Zagreb from Fp.41700G , Kroatische Ersatz Regiment 369.
Three things are very interesting abut this card:
It uses feldpost cancel(Briefstempel) with text 1.battalion Kroat.Ersatz Regiment 369. although Fp cancels with number Fp.41700 were already in use at that time.
Text in Croatian is very interesting, soldier describes in detail to his family how to mail him a special Christmas parcel . A special card and parcels were issued in 1942 and 1943 to be mailed to soldiers for christmas , they are extremely rare.
Arrival cancel 08.12.1942 Zagreb ,this means that card passed through Feldpost cancel without being censored, which is very rare, also it gives us time it took for mail to arrive from Stockerau, around 4 days.
