K.u.k Croatian units

K.u.k Croatian unit

K.u.k army was made from Common army ,Austrian and Hungarian Landwehr and Landsturm. 
Separate part of Hungarian Landwehr(Honved) was Croatian Landwehr-Domobranstvo and Croatian landsturm- Pucki ustanak ,they used Croatian language as command language and unit cancels on mail are in Croatian.

Croats from all areas served in Common army and navy.
Croats from Croatia-Slavonia(Srijem/Syrmia included) served in Croatian Landwehr-Domobranstvo  and Croatian landsturm- Pucki ustanak.

Croats from Međimurje and Vojvodina(Bačka)  served in Hungarian Landwehr(Honved) and Landsturm. 
Croats from Dalmatia, Boka Kotorska( Cattaro bay) and Istria served in Austrian Landwehr and Landsturm and made a big part of Navy.

Croats from  Bosnia and Herzegowina served in Bosnian K.u.k units. 

List of Croatian units follows:

INFANTRY:

1)Croatian units from Croatia-Slavonia 

COMMON ARMY

Commmon army Korps and divisions:

XIII.korps - Croatian korps.

7.infantry division -Osijek

36.infantry division-Zagreb

Common army infantry regiments (IR)

16. IR. Varaždin(ex Bjelovar)

53. IR. Zagreb

70. IR Petrovaradin

78. IR Osijek

79. IR Otočac

96. IR Karlovac

116. IR Slavonija 1918. (ex III/78, IV/78, IV/16)  

135. IR Zagreb/Karlovac 1918. (ex III/96, IV/96, IV/53) 

OTHER UNITS :

31. Feldjager bataillion (Zagreb)

6.Grenzjager battalion - (Croatian battalion)

4. Pionire Bataillon(PB)-Osijek until 12/17,  

13. Sapper Bataillon(SB)- Zagreb until 12 /17, later reformed into  SB 14, 34, 36  

Croatian Landwehr-DOMOBRANSTVO  
(Unit cancels in Croatian language on mail!)

On teritory of Kingdom of Croatia and Slavonia one Landwehr infantry division was raised :  42.domobranska divizija or  german 42.Landwehr infanterie division or  hungarian 42.Honved inf.div.

Division is formed from 2 infantry brigades each with 2 Landwehr or Honved infantry regiments-HIR (domobranska pješačka pukovnija)

83. Brigade with
25.HIR- domobranska pješačka pukovnija -Zagreb
26.HIR-domobranska pješačka pukovnija - Karlovac

84. Brigade with
27.HIR-domobranska pješačka pukovnija - Sisak
28.HIR-domobranska pješačka pukovnija - Osijek

Later during war 2 more Domobran inf.regiments were formed:

33.HIR-domobranska pješačka pukovnija is formed in 1916(Zagreb,Karlovac,Sisak)

311.HIR-domobranska pješačka pukovnija is formed in 1916 from men with Trachoma or other eye diseases.(Headquater in Nova Gradiška)

Landsturm(Lst.) or Pučki ustanak is territorial defence force formed under Domobranstvo its regiments carry numbers of Domobranstvo regiments.

In 1914 one brigade of Pučki ustanak is formed :104.Lst.Inf.Brig ( 104.Pučko-ustaška brigada)  has 4 regiments

25.LstIR- Pučko-ustaška pukovnija Zagreb

26.LstIR-Pučko-ustaška pukovnija Karlovac

27.LstIR-Pučko-ustaška pukovnija Sisak

28.LstIR-Pučko-ustaška pukovnija Osijek

104.Lst. brigade was disbanded in eary 1915. and regiments become part of Domobranstvo or were reformed as ettapen Lst.batallions with same numbers  (Pučko ustaški etapni bataljon 25,26,27,28)

 33.Lst.IR existed but i dont know if it was a Croatian unit - i haven`t seen mail from it.

3.pučko-ustaški bataljon za obranu morske obale ,(3. Kustenschutz batallion ) sea coast defence batallion no.3  This unit uses cancels in Croatian langauge therefore must be a part of Domobranstvo. Maybe there were other such Croatian units.

2)Croatian units from Dalmatia  and Istria :
Common army:

22.IR  Sinj  -Dalmatia

97.IR Trieste-Trst (27% croats from Istria and Kvarner)

122. IR Dalmatia, Istria ( formed in 1918. god.) 

Dalmatia and Istria Landwehr (Schutzen) regiments:

23.SchR. north Dalmatia-Zara

37.SchR. south Dalmatia -Gravosa

5.SchR.Istria ( had 40% Croats from Istria and Kvarner)

Dalmatia and Istria Landsturm regiments:
23.Lst.IR  north Dalmatia -Zara

37.Lst.IR.  south Dalmatia -Gravosa
5. LstIR  Istria

157. kk LstIBaon (Dalmacija):

155. kk LstIBaon ( Istria, Trieste, Gorica) :

Feldjager batallion 7 (Laibach)  (1914 Slovenian, but in 1918 had 27% Croats from Istria)

Feldjager batallion 20 (Trieste) (1914 Slovenian/Italian, but in 1918 had 17% Croats)

ARTILLERY

Common army:
abbreviations:  FkR- Feldkanon-Regimente , FAR-Feldartillerie regimente, FhR -Feldhaubitz regimente, sFhD -schwere Feldhaubitz division , sFAR-schwere FeldArtillerie Regimente, GbAA Gebirgs artillerie abteilung , GbAR Gebirgs artillerie regimente , H- honved( HGbAA,HFHR)

37. FkR Zagreb,  in 1916 disbanded. 

38. FkR Osijek  , from 06.1916 called  FkR-7 ,  from 06.1918 FAR-7 .

39. FkR Varaždin, from 06.1916 called FkR 36 , from 02.1918 FAR-36.  

13. FhR Zagreb,   in  06.1916  13.FhR   is reformed into:

1.Battery(divizijun) becomes  FHR 30 , from 02.1918 renamed FAR-130   

2 Battery(divizijun) becomes  FHR 36 , from 02.1918 renamed FAR-136

3. Battery(divizijun) becomes FHR 7 , from 06.1918 FAR 107

13. sFhD Zagreb , in the beginning of 1916 is disbanded, reformed into  sFAR

7.sFAR formed in  1916.

36.sFAR formed in 1916

7.GbAA. 

36.GbAA

13.GbAR Zagreb

Croatian Landwehr Artillery -Domobransko topništvo
 (Unit cancels in Croatian language on mail!)

42.HGbAA (42 .gorsko topnički odjel)

42.HFHR renamed  HFAR 142 (142.poljsko-topnička pukovnija)

42.sHFAR(42.teška poljsko topnička pukovnija) formed in 1916

HFKR 6 (6.domobranska poljska topnička pukovnija), renamed from  06.1916  HFKR 42 ,  from 06.1918 HFAR-42
HRFKR 74 from  6.1917 HFAR 74  - Honved Reserve Feld Kannon Regimente 74  or

74. domobranska.poljsko obićka pukovnija – soldiers use abbreviation  FHR74 on mail, this unit or at least 4th  battery was Croatian Landwehr unit because unit cancels on mail are in Croatian language 

Unit Cancels seen are   Kr.ug 4/74.domobranska pričuvna poljsko-obićka bitinca and Kr.ug. 4/74.domobranska poljsko-obićka bitinca.

Common army Artillery- Dalmatia

Dalmatiner Gebirgs Kannon Division (GbKnDion) , disbanded at the end of  1914 ,men used for formation of  GbAR 17                                        

CAVALRY

Croatia - Slavonia

 Common army cavalry

5. Ulan regiment Varaždin

12.Ulan regiment Osijek

Croatian Landwehr Hussar - domobranski husari

10. domobranski husari — Varaždin.  (Unit cancel in Croatian language on mail!)

Dalmatia Cavalry Austrian Landwehr :.

k.k. Reitende Dalmatiner Landesschützendivision- Dalmatinski divizion strijelaca-konjanika

Each units Feldpost will be separately delt with in next posts...

WWI K.u.K Feldpost numbers list

K.u.K Feldpost numbers 

New !!!  

Complete list of Feldpost numbers of  K.u.K  army in English !! 

View  under Articles in English  on the right  ,or click link below

 

K.u.K FELDPOST NUMBERS

NDH Feldpost forgeries !

On  21.02.2020 ended  auctions on Ebay.  Lot of 5 fake Feldpost  cards with NDH stamps were sold . 

To me those forgeries look like a fantasy , or something a lazy forger would make.... NDH stamps with German Feldpost cancel,   mixed Reich and NDH stamps , even a German Dienstpost Ukraine cancel on them ..  these cards  look more  like  something a child would make  but  someone paid almost 40 USD for one of them . Seller got a total of 135 USD for the fakes..

Screenshots :

Feldpost auction price

Good quality and rare Feldpost mail always has a good price...

Above is screenshot of an auction that ended 16.02.2020 with high winning bid .. Card was mailed in 1942  from Turbe then small village near Travnik in Bosnia to Fp. L40643  (30.7.1941) 15. Staffel (Kroat.) Kampf-Geschwader 53  of Croatian Airforce Legion.

Mail to and from Legion is very rare and expensive ....i already have a letter from this unit and i ddnt bid on it... 

NDH FORGERIES

NDH FORGERIES

While this is not exactly subject of this Blog, as  I collect stamps and postal history as well as Feldpost , sometimes I run into fakes being sold .

Couple of days ago I followed below pictured auction on ebay , forgery was sold for 91,00$ . So i decided to write post about it with forgeries i have collected. Some i bought  knowing they were fake , some i paid a lot ... and got beautiful worthless items...

Fortunately I haven't seen NDH Feldpost fakes yet....

If you are in doubt about  your stamps or covers being fake , i suggest you use services of mr.Berislav Pervan who is court certified stamp examiner in Zagreb ,Croatia.

 

http://www.markanova.hr/

Recent fake sold on ebay auction on 02.02.2020.

This beautiful bisect on cover is made from original material: card, stamp and cancels.
Bisects on cover  are really rare and usually carry cancels  from small post offices in Bosnia..Semizovac and Rajlovac quallify  as such! Great! Yet it looks to good to be true....
 I contacted mr.Pervan about it ...he pointed out why this is fake...take a look at date in cancels ... It was mailed in Rajlovac on 01.01.1944 a Public holiday in NDH, even worse arrival cancel is 02.01.1944 which is impossible as it was Sunday...post offices were closed..Fake!
 What is interesting , bids were made by people who have over 1000 feedback ,they are supposed to be expirienced philatelists....who paid 91,00 usd for fake card.

My mistakes from my early philatelic days follow bellow:

Croatian Storm division partial proof with examiners mark Petric. I bought it and was confident it was original , but  good quality fake was detected by mr.Pervan under UV light and marked as such.. FALSUM!
i paid well over 100 usd if i remember correctly...to an auctionhouse in Serbia.

Fake cover with fake cancel  " +10KN OSTFRONT-SPENDE / DAR BORCIMA NA ISTOKU" , stamps are good.
Print quallity is low, fake is easy to detect. In lower pic original cover is on the left, look at the difference in size of covers, its obvious. Paid it 10 or 15$ years ago, i bought it cos i liked it...

Original stamps ,original cancel ZAGREB on front but fake cancel Plitvička jezera at the back , cancel is not recorded in mr.Cividini book about NDH cancles(a must have book for NDH collector) or maybe is of later origin in Yugoslavia but unknown to me..
On lower right side is examiner mark of dr.Rommerskirchen BPP which looks good and is applied in way it marks overprinted used stamps.
it is possible that cancel Plitvička jezera was unknown to him and he thought it was good, also it  could be faked examiners mark...
Another possibility is that dr.Rommerskirchen attested to genuine cancelled to order stamps on cover ,CTO  and somone later added adresses on front and back  and Plitvicka jezera cancel to make it look like geniune mailed cover and increase value.
Paid it over 100$ some years ago..

Beutiful cover with imperforated Red Cross full set of stamps which are original. Original cancel Zagreb 6 , R-sticker was pencil "improved" from Zagreb 1 to Zagreb 6. Cover was probably made during the war and was cancelled to order -CTO( favour cancelled). Most likely R-sticker and adress were later applied to make it look like genuine mailed cover to increase value. Examiner mark Petric applied. Above written is from mr. Pervan atest. I cant remember price i paid...above 50$ for sure...

Forgeries of proofs of last NDH issue 01.05.1945...Orač - Ploughman .
The pair on the right was sold without guarantee by an auctionhouse in Serbia  some years ago ... the happy guy who got it cheaply for 200+ $  was me.... examined by mr.Pervan confirmed fake..to make me feel better he gave me other 2 pairs of stamps for free... thank you Bero !!

Lovely fake cover with fake cancels, stamps are genuine.
I think cover and cancels were printed with good quality laser printer, similar covers with similar fake canel have been seen with different dates in cancel. All use "Zagreb na markama" cancel as basis for fake. Easily detected as this is more a fantasy issue then real forgery, i bought this one for 5$ just to see it.

Ustasha army - Ustaška vojnica

Ustasha army - Ustaška vojnica : FELDPOST

Feldpost from Ustasha army is very  rare compared to feldpost from Domobranstvo . Ustasha army was much smaller and more heavily involved in fighting hence scarcity of mail . Also I suspect that much of the mail was destroyed after the war to avoid persecution by new Yugoslav communist authorities. 

I have seen only packet cards addressed to Ustasha members and official mail, i guess personal mail is extremely rare.

 07.12.1942 packet card  from Šid to Ustasha member of 4.satnija(company) 29.bojna(battalion) in Srebrenica.
On 01.12.1942 -  29.bojna was part of 1.Stajaći djelatni zdrug. Its Headquater ,  headquarters company , 3rd and 4th company were stationed in Srebrenica . Average Ustaska Bojna had around 700 members, number varying from 500 to 1000.

24.02.1945. packet card from Vinkovci to member od 5.sat(company) 1.Novačka bojna of 1.Ustaški Obranbeni Zdrug in  Vrapče (Zagreb). Official stamp at the back of the card is not clear but i think reads 2.novačka bojna  which ic correct  as 1.novačka bojna had 1.2.3 and 4. sat. while 5. 6. 7. and 8. sat were in 2.novačka bojna which had 888 members.

02.03.1944 Packet card from Oriolik to a  Bojnik (major) of  Poglavnikov tjelesni sdrug (PTS). 6.sat ,2.bojna(batallion)  1.pukovnija(regiment) in Varaždin. Official cancel at the back reads 13.sat(stožerna sat) (13.headquaters company), 1.pukovnija PTS. Arrival cancel Varaždin.
13.sat was locted in Varaždin,  2.bojna with 6.sat was located in Novi Marof near Varaždin.

21.01.1944 packet card from Slavonski brod (or Brod n/S as in label) to member of  27.sat!(probably incorrectly written).Novački sklop PTS  stationed in Karlovac. (Novački sklop: meaning recruiting(training) unit)
Official cancel reads Novački sklop PTS - 2. (2. probably means - 2.novačka bojna-battalion)

Novački sklop was based in Karlovac  , it had :
Headquarter and headquarters sat.
1.novačka bojna with its headquarter and headquarters sat, 1. 2. and 3.novačka sat ,
2.novačka bojna with its headquarter and headquarters sat, 4. 5. and 6. novačka sat.

Chemical cenzorship pics

09.03.1943 Letter from Fp.41000N : Kroat.Infanterie Ersatz-Regiment 369. Nachrichten kompanie , to Zagreb NDH .  Visible chemical censorship, blue line on the back of  cover . On the paper with text blue and pale white lines of chemicals are visible.

1944.(exact date unreadable) Cover of a letter sent from Krapina, NDH to Fp 56925E:  4.Kompanie,  IV.Ausbildungs-Bataillon ,  Kroatische Ausbildungs Brigade. Chemical censorship lines visible on the back of the cover.

06.09.1943 folded official German issued  letter-sheet ,sent from Fp.59875  Stab u. Einheit gemischte Ausbildungs-Abteilung, Kroatische Ausbildungs Brigade to Zagreb NDH.
On the front and back of  cover  are visible pale and blue line of  chemical censorship. When letter unfolds chemical censorship lines are even better visible on the both sides of paper.

Chemical cenzorship

Occasionally letters mailed between  Croatia and Kroatische Ausbildungs brigade carry marks of chemical censorship which was performed by German censors who were looking for hidden texts written in invisible inks. Croatian censors didnt posses  materials for chemical censorship.

Chemical censorship was fully developed during WWI, when mail circulated between warring sides via Netherlands and Switzerland. During both wars people tried to send  secret messages to the opposing side written in invisible ink. Ordinary materials like: milk , urine , starch solution or citrus fruits juices were used as well as specially developed invisible inks made by military and intelligence agencies. During WWI Germans used invisible ink such as lead-acetate hidden in toilet water and soap made from potassium ferrocyanide but they were discovered by the french scientists using electrolysis with silver nitrate or  were detected  with solutions of silver , like solution Protargol( silver proteinate). As French developed a way to detect German invisible inks they developed their own invisible inks , one of them  needing 4 developing reagents in set order, and it  was so successful that it has not been made public yet , over a 100 years later.

In 1941 Germans spies caught  in USA and Bermuda used diluted solution of Pyramidon (Aminophenazone) which was antipyretic readily available in any Pharmacy  and is still in market  today. In wasnt detected using modern kits of the time but by using old fashion  iodine solution.
 Such readily available but hard to detect compounds were best candidates for invisible inks.

In my opinion on letters from Kroatian Ausbildungs brigade mailed to Croatia  German censors were looking for simple ordinary materials and not for special inks.
On letters, often blue lines of various intensity are visible which  are most probably from diluted solutions of copper sulphate , also much more pale lines can be seen possibly from diluted iodine solutions.

Mail with chemical censorship sent to and from Croatia during WW2 is  rare.

Registered Letter sent from Stockerau-Lager 8.1943 to Podravske Sesvete ,Croatia.  Blue lines of censors solution are visible on the cover and on the page of text . Often stamps were removed by censor to check for hidden message on the back of the stamps. All mail from Stockerau Lager to Croatia was censored ,but registered mail was rare as Feldpost cards were mailed for free unlike registered mail. German censors applied regularly same censor number on the envelope and on the sheet of text , here we  can see   number 565671 on the top and bottom picture.

Cover of a registered letter mailed 5.1944 to Osijek ,Croatia from Stockerau Lager
Blue line of censors solution is visible on the back of the  cover and on the edge.
German stamp was not removed which is exception to the rule. Nice Ag censor mark , means it was censored in Wien ( Vienna)

Registered mail from Stockerau Lager to Croatia is rare .

Kampfgruppe Engelbrecht - German units training Croatian forces inside NDH

Feldpost card 23.01.1945 to Reich from Fp.02873B which is schwere Kompanie Kampfgruppe Engelbrecht,
  
Fp.02873 :
 (1.8.1943-23.3.1944) 21.12.1943 Stab u. 1.-4. Kompanie Deutsches Ausbildungs-Bataillon 1 bei 1. Kroat. Jäger-Brigade,
(7.11.1944-Kriegsende) 17.1.1945 Regimentsstab u. schwere Kompanie Kampfgruppe Engelbrecht, 

Kampfgruppe Engelbrecht  was formed at the end of 1944 or beginning of 1945 from German forces that were training Croatian army in NDH , it had stab and 3 batallions and fought in NDH :

Stab from   Deutsches Ausbildungs-Bataillon 1 bei 1. Kroat. Jäger-Brigade,
 Fp: 02873 Regimentsstab u. schwere Kompanie Kampfgruppe Engelbrecht,

I. batallion from Deutsches Ausbildungs-Bataillon. 4. der 4. kroat.Jäger-Brigade.
Fp.04450 Stab I u. 1.-4. Kompanie Kampfgruppe Ingelbrecht
 
II. batallion from Deutsches Ausbildungs-Bataillon. 4. der 4.kroat.Gebirgs-Brig.;
Fp 05173 Stab II u. 5.-8. Kompanie Kampfgruppe Ingelbrecht.

III.batallion from Deutsches Ausbildungs-Bataillon. 3. der 3.kroat.Jäger-Brigade
Fp 07571 Stab III u. 9.-12. Kompanie Kampfgruppe Engelbrecht

  It is possible that  Sturm-Brigade Südost  is formed in  3-4/1945 from  Kampfgruppe Engelbracht. (or  maybe gruppe Fischer? at the end of the war a lot of "ad-hoc" fighting groups were formed that are poorly documented and it is impossible to reconstruct their origins completly)

ORG. TODT SARAJEVO

An interesting item mailed by feldpost to Vicenza Italy on 31.10.1943 
Feldpost number Fp. 05386
(27.1.1942-14.7.1942) OT-Leitstelle Sarajewo,
(24.3.1944-6.11.1944) 12.7.1944 OT-Oberbauleitung Mostar.

Following Italian capitulation Italian  soldiers in NDH had 3 options, a) to go on collaborating  with German forces (around 10% did so and almost all of Blackshirts),  b) become prisoners - and  become forced labor in Reich or  c) join Partisans.
There were around 430 000 Italian soldiers stationed in  Balkans , a large part of it was in NDH.
Most of them choose to become prisoners, some joined Germans and very few joined Partisans.
This letter is probably from an  Italian man who joined Germans and worked in Org.Todt. Letistell Sarajevo , NDH
German and Italian  censorship visible

Polizei-Panzer- Kompanie 16.

22.1.1945 cover mailed to Reich from Fp.23769 - Polizei-Panzer- Kompanie 16.

16.Polizei-Panzer company was formed in 06.1944 in Croatia and  stayed there until the end of War.
Iz was stationed in Samobor near Zagreb and unlike other Polizei panzer kompaines  it was manned mostly by Croats under German command staff.
Kompanie was made up of  3 platoons.
1.platoon had 2 tanks  Panzer 35 or 38 type and 2 Italian L6 tanks.  
2. and 3. platoon each had  4  Italian L3 tankette 

verstärkte Infanterie-Bataillon 939

07.08.1943 card to Zagreb NDH from Fp.57538 verstärkte Infanterie-Bataillon 939, 

Battalion was formed on  25.06.1943 in Stockerau to serve under  "Befehlshaber der Deutsches Truppen in Kroatien" . 

On 17.08.1943 batallion was disbanded and soldiers  added to 392. inf .div.(kroat.). 

Extremly rare Feldpost card as unit was active less then 2 months ( 52 days)

German Feldpost to NDH -pics 3

11.1941 letter to  Zagreb from Fp.06109 Stab Korps-Nachrichten-Abteilung 451, part of Korpstruppen of LI (51.) corps   

2.1942 letter from Fp.07764E , 9.Kompanie, II-Batallion , Gebirgsjäger-Regiment 137. 2.Gebirgs Division in Lappland, sent  Poste Restante to  Kaptol, near Požega Slavonia , NDH . Arrival cancel at the back .Letter was not collected and  after 7 days it was forwarded  from Kaptol,(cancel at the front )  to Reich.

11.1942 letter from Zagreb to Borovo, from Passierscheinstelle Sud-ost 1. des Oberkommando des Heeres .Ausenstell Agram . Letter is marked Dienstsache -official but was not exempt from charges by Croatian post  and Porto was charged at Borovo, see stamps. Recipient is Croatian Volksdeutsche , maybe going to work to Reich.In 7.1943 around 4500 Volksdeutsche from Croatia were working in Reich   

7.1943 letter to Beška  in Srijem , NDH  from 2.komp. SS-Gebirgsjäger-Ausbildungs- und Ersatz-Batallion 6   (10.5.43 formed in Hallein / Salzburg). I  also have letter from this Volksdeutsche soldier sent from 13. Waffen-Gebirgs-Division der SS Handschar (kroatische Nr. 1)..This letter is from training and formation period of 13.SS division.

8.1943 letter written in Croatian from SS Pionire Ersatz Batallion 1 , Dresden to Osijek ,NDH. In text soldier writes he was in Croatian army and transferred to train for SS-Pionire  , probably to serve in 13.SS Division as it was only unit where Croats could serve as SS-Pionire in 8.1943.

8.1944 Cover sent by civilan post from Varaždin to Fp.40043H Deutscher General in Agram,via 

Fp.58496 -Feldkommandantur 1038 ,(Varaždin)

2.1945 Letter written in Croatian ,to Zagreb from Fp.04858  Kraftfahr-Schule 105 (V. SS-Korps).  V.SS korps is in NDH  from its formation in 01.07.1943  until 2.1945 and had many Volksdeutsche soldiers . When korps was  transfererd to Reich, this Volksdeutsche soldier went with korps from NDH to the defence of Berlin.