03.1944 - 369.(Kroat.) Infanterie Division to Zagreb

20.03.1944 feldpost letter from Fp.13549 E  or  12.company, III.batallion, Grenadier Regiment 369. of 369.(Kroatische) Infanterie Division to Zagreb, Croatia. Soldier writes that he is stationed on the seaside and managed to obtain some sea salt and oil(olive) and he will send it to Zagreb. He notes that unlike in Bosnia there are no Bandits(Partisans) here, but air raids are far more common. 369.(Kroat.)division moved in 3.1944 from Bosnia to Herzegovina and southern Dalmatia with southernmost units stationed in Cavtat(south of Dubrovnik). As usual  feldpost and censor cancels are present on the cover and content.

10.1942 official Army(Domobranstvo) letter from Osijek to Vinkovci

 20.10.1942 official military cover sent from "DOMOBRANSKI POVJERENIK u I. Osječkom mlinu na valjke"  or "Army representative in 1. Osijek roller mill" to "Posadno obskrbno skladište" Vinkovci or "Garisson supply depot" in Vinkovci. Cancels on the cover are : Official purple cancel, letter was franked with official stamp of 3 kuna value canceled in Osijek , on the back is arrival cancel Vinkovci 21.10.42.

1.Osijek steam roller mill produced flour from various grains.

12.1917 U-boot station Hercegnovi to U-boat 31 in Rijeka. SUBMARINE MAIL!

 05.12.1917 picture posted as feldpost card from U-boat station in Hercegnovi in Bay of Kotor to U-boat 31 in Fiume(Rijeka). Text is in Croatian, sender notes his address as "c. i k. Podmornička stanica , Ercegnovi , Dalmacija" or k.u. k. submarine station Hercegnovi, Dalmatia. Red cancel reads k.u.k Ubootstationskommando Golf v. Cattaro - Zensuriert. Card was rerouted from U-boot 31 in Fiume to S.M.S Alpha in Pola ,  a ship of  torpedo training school. U-boot 31 sunk by crew error on 29.10.1917 in port of Rijeka(Fiume), ship was raised from the sea the next day but  repairs lasted until 1.1918. This card was mailed during this period of repairs while the receiver was transferred to SMS Alpha. Arrival cancel Fiume 09.12.1917, also present is purple cancel in hungarian "hadlszolgarat portomentes" meaning "military service, free of charge", this was probably added in Rijeka as Hungarians controlled the city then. Photo is possibly from inside of an submarine, but i can't verify this.

K.u.K navy entered the War with 6 submarines, during the conflict another 21 submarines were added to the fleet, giving a total of 27 units, of which 8 were lost. Average crew was 15-20 men hence mail to and from U-boots is very rare.

THIS IS THE FIRST FELDPOST FROM AN K.u.K U-BOAT WRITTEN IN CROATIAN I HAVE SEEN!!

I know that Croatian sailors served on the KuK submarines as Georg von Trapp writes in his memoires ' To the last salute' that he had Croatian speaking sailors on his Uboot-14. This is a great book, you can find english copies online.

9.1943 - 373.Croatian Infantry division to Wien, Reich

 27.09.1943 Official registered feldpost letter from Fp.01728 - Kommandeur der Infanterie-Division Nachschubtruppe 373.(kroatisch) to Wehrmeldeamt in Wien, Reich(command of supply column of 373. Croatian division to draft board in Vienna, Austria). Feldpost cancel and Registered label have visible Kenn number K-349 used by Feldpostamt 373 for registered mail of 373.Croatian "TIGER" division. Present are multiple feldpost(postal) and units cancels, arrival cancel Vienna 02.10.1943  is on the back of cover.

10.1942 letter from Pisarovina to 11.infantry regiment in Sisak , special UNS censorship.

 

17.10.1942 cover of a letter mailed from Lučelnica via Pisarovina post office(cancel) to a soldier serving with 15.stožerna satnija 11.pukovnija, Sisak (15.Hq company of 11.infantry regiment in Sisak). Arrival cancel Sisak 20.10.1942 is on the backside of cover. 11.infantry regiment(Sisak) in June 1943 became 11.mountain regiment of 3.Gorski Zdrug(mountain brigade)

Really interesting is very rare censor cancel in black on left bottom corner. Cancel reads PREGLEDANO / UNS URED III . (EXAMINED/ UNS OFFICE III). UNS is short for Ustaška Nadzorna Služba or Ustaša Surveillance Service this was state secret police service.  This special cancel was used only for mail sent from Pisarovina and Zdenčina. Pisarovina is a  small palace around 30 km from Zagreb, in this area a  safe zone for prisoner exchange between Germans, Croats and Communists Partisans was formed and used until the end of the War. Hence UNS performed additional censorship of mail from this area.

The best book about Croatian censorship in WW2 is "Poštanska cenzura u NDH"(Postal censorship in Croatia) written by Berislav Pervan and Predrag Zrinjšćak , it is a trilingual book in Croatian,English and German. The above letter was published in this book  on page 137 , see scan below. You can order the book from author berislav.pervan@gmail.com

2.1917 - K.u.K 72. Infanterie Brigade to Zagreb, Croatia.

20.02.1917 KuK feldpost card mailed from 72. Infanterie Brigade via Fp.634 to Zagreb. Fp.634 replaced Fp.44 on 06.02.1917 as feldpost of 36.Infantry division. 72.Inf.Brigade was part of 36.Inf.division during the whole war. While division was mostly Croatian, Brigade  made up of Croatian  53.Inf.Regiment(Zagreb) and 16.Inf.Regiment (Varaždin) and was almost purely Croatian unit. In 02.1917 division was on the Russian front in Galicia. Card has purple 72. Inf.Brigade cancel and  Fp.634 cancel but has no visible censorship. Text is short greeting in Croatian language.

1.1943 letter to Zagreb from 369.kroat.inf.div. mailed via 7.SS Prinz Eugen division

 

21.01.1943 letter mailed to Zagreb via Fp.47444 - 2. Sanitats Kompanie SS Freiwilligen Gebirgs Division Prinz Eugen (7.SS). Sender writes his Fp.number as Fp.13549 E used by 12.Kompanie Grenadier-Regiment 369 of 369.(kroatische) Infanterie Division.

Text in Croatian is very interesting. Soldier writes  "thanks to the Lord i didn't go to Russia, but Im in village Letovanić 50 km from Zagreb.. here we are training and going to the forests to hunt  Partisans , we caught just a few of them... I command a mortar crew of 6 men...". 

This letter is from the beginning of operation White - fall Weiß 1, both 369.kroat.inf.div and 7.SS division were stationed in and near Banovina area at the start of operation, hence this soldier from 369.inf.div used nearby 7.SS divisions feldpost to send mail.

7.1944 Card from Osijek to 4.lovačka pukovnija (4.jager regiment)

 11.07.1944 card from Osijek to 15.stožerna sat 4.lovačke pukovnije(15.headquarters company of 4.jager regiment) in Derventa. 4.lovačka pukovnija was part od 1.lovački zdrug(1.jager brigade) of Domobranstvo. In mid 1944  4.lovacka pukovnija was stationed around Derventa . During  27-29. June 1944, 4.lovačka pukovnija repulsed Partisan attack on Derventa while fighting against a much larger enemy force. Ironically on 8. and 9. September 1944 large part of 1.jager brigade surrendered to communist forces.  Around 800 men remained in the brigade but Army HQ decided to disband 1.jager brigade on the 18.October 1944.  Soldiers were transferred to 3.lovački zdrug (3.jager brigade).

6.1916 K.u.K Marinefeldpost from Durz to Bakar in Croatian Littoral

 

16.06.1916 K.u.K Marinefeldpost card, mailed from Durz(alb.Durres, cro.Drač) in Albania to Bakar in Hrvatsko primorje(Croatian Littoral). Albanian postcard was used, it was mailed from civilian cargo ship S.S Rakoczy via S.M.S Kronprinz Erzherzog Rudolf - ships cancel was applied, then card was transferred to local post office Zelenika in bay of Kotor where postal cancel 20.VI.16  was applied. Text is in Croatian , just a short greetings message. 

S.S Rakoczy was Passenger Cargo Ship built in Tyne Iron Shipyard in England. Ship was completed in 11/1892 for Royal Hungarian Sea Navigation Co Adria Ltd, Fiume(Rijeka).  Ship was running supplies for KuK army in Durz when postcard was mailed.

S.M.S Kronprinz Erzherzog Rudolf was old battleship that served as local defence ship in bay of Kotor since 1906 and spent the war stationed there.

09.1943 Kroatische Ausbildungs Brigade to Domobran school in Varaždin

 

18.09.1943 letter with contents mailed from Fp.56478 B - 1.company  1st. Battalion Kroatische Ausbildungs Brigade to 1.prva bitnica topničkog sklopa Domobranska Središnja Škola (1.section of artillery battery of  Central Army School) in Varaždin, Croatia. School trained reserve army officers. Feldpost cancel 18.09.1943 at was used in Stockerau Austria. German censorship, content was marked by the same green censor cancel bearing numbers as was the cover. Text is in Croatian, sender unusually for the war time describes a day boat trip on Danube on which cadets were sent.

Feldpost from EINSATZSTAFFEL DER DEUTSCHEN MANNSCHAFT

 Organisation of Einsatzstaffel der Deutschen Mannschaft (E der DM)  is reviewed elsewhere on this blog, but some new findings came to my attention. I have read on the internet that there were independent companies in E der DM but I have never seen official document or mail from those companies until recently.

There were 3 independent companies named after their commanding officers 

Kompanie ZIKMUND, commander Leopold Zikmund

Kompanie MAY, commander Josef May

Kompanie BRASCHEL, commander Adam Braschel, 

Adam Braschel was commander of 2nd company in Verfugungsbataillon 'Prinz Eugen' (active battalion Pr.Eugen) , it is probable that name 'kompanie BRASCHEL' refers to this company when it was displaced from it's core battalion.

Mail from E Der DM is very rare.

30.01.1943 cut out from parcel card mailed from Gorjani to a member of Verfugungsbataillon 'Prinz Eugen , at the back nice clear units cancel.

1942. cover from Beška to Heinrich Evinger serving with kompanie BRASCHEL in Bosanska Gradiška. This is the first letter I have ever seen mailed to an independent company in Der DM.

1942. another letter mailed from Petrovaradin to Heinrich Ewinger serving with 2.kompanie Einsatzstaffel in Osijek, arrival cancel Osijek 22.05.1942.

K.U.K hand painted cards to Esseg-Osijek in Croatia

 

Two beautiful hand painted cards mailed by prof. Antonin Kamenik to Esseg(Osijek) in Slavonia, Croatia. Antonin Kamenik(1886-1959) was Czech school teacher, painter, graphic artist and illustrator. First card was mailed in 1914 at the beginning of the war from Telč in Morava. Second card was mailed from Iglau-Jihlava in Morava from K.u.K Reservespital in Iglau(Army reserve hospital in Jihlava) at the time Kamenik was Fähnrich(Fhn.) or ensign in K.u.K army, as he noted in his address.

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.