This web page, published by the Military Postal History Society, contains the text content of the 10 frame German World War I Military and Occupation Mail from Allied and Enemy Territory This exhibit was created by, and is the property of the late Al Kugel, and is being supplied by his heirs as a courtesy to the Military Postal History Society.
The exhibit shows German military and occupation mail from the First World War. It is noted that Germany occupied all or parts of 16 different countries, as illustrated in the exhibit with representative covers, with the occupation mail being organized chronologically by area and alphabetically within areas.
To view the exhibit page images, see: web pages containing the image content of the exhibit frames.
Updated 11/8/2023
GERMAN WORLD WAR I MILITARY & OCCUPATION MAIL FROM ALLIED & ENEMY TERRITORY
This exhibit tells about German postal services in territories of allied and enemy countries during the First World War. Following the assassination in Sarajevo, countries were drawn into conflict like dominoes, with Germany invading Belgium on the first of August 1914, declaring war on France on the second and having Great Britain declare war on it on the third. The ensuing struggle ended in the abdication of the emperor and surrender of Germany in November 1918. As shown, Germany occupied all or parts of 16 different countries, as illustrated in the exhibit with representative covers, with the occupation mail being organized chronologically by area and alphabetically within areas.
Early in the occupation of Valenciennes, France, the German authorities gave permission for the Chamber of Commerce to issue a 10 centimes stamp to pay for local delivery of letters. Some 3,000 of these labels were printed and used from 8 September to 31 October 1914. An elliptical handstamp of the Chamber was used as a cancellation.
The quantity of military mail produced during this era was vast, considering that Germany had over 11 million men under arms for more than four years. However, material from smaller locations is relatively scarce and some, i.e. from territories occupied late in the war, is rare. Military mail shown in the exhibit concentrates on covers with cachets showing identifiable locations — a relatively difficult achievement.
GERMAN WORLD WAR I MILITARY & OCCUPATION MAIL
FROM ALLIED & ENEMY TERRITORY
Plan of Exhibit
This exhibit starts with separate sections showing the mail of Germans assigned to the territory of their allies: Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria and Turkey, which are followed by five additional geographic sections, reflecting the various fronts on which German forces served on enemy territory in the 1914-1918 period. In addition, there are. Within these different “chapters” there are 24 different areas shown, with representative postmarks and other usages of the individual areas being grouped in the order of their importance and/or geographically:
Territory of Allies: Eastern Front:
Austria Hungary Poland
Bulgaria Lithuania
Turkey: Latvia
Turkey Proper Estonia
Iraq Finland
Palestine Russia
Persia Belarus
Syria Ukraine
Transjordan Georgia
Southeast Front:
Western Front: Serbia
Luxembourg Romania
Belgium Southwest Front - Italy
France East Africa
Registered cover sent through German Fieldpost Station #227 to Constantinople with cachet of the “Regimental Headquarters of the German Troops with the Bulgarian 2™ Army.” In addition, there is a handstamp of the “Imperial Ottoman General Staff Officer with the Staff of the Royal Bulgarian 2™ Army.” A true example of the cooperation between Germany and its allies of the Central Powers.
AUSTRIA-HUNGARY
Although not in occupation of enemy territory, German soldiers and sailors served on the territory of its allies, both on liaison duty and helping to defend against common enemies. Thus, the mail of these forces should be considered as part of the philatelic story of the German occupations of World War I. It is appropriate to consider the troops on the territory of Austria-Hungary first, as this country was an ally from the beginning.
Vienna
Budapest
Picture postcard datelined from the Hotel Bristol in Vienna.
Picture postcard datelined from Budapest.
Postcards with scenes from the capitals of the Dual Monarchy sent through the German fieldpost by troops serving as liaison with their Austro-Hungarian counterparts.
AUSTRIA-HUNGARY Lemberg (Lvov)
Przemysl
Mail from the Austrian Province of Galicia, where the Germans helped to defend against the Russian invasions.
Both cities were, in fact, captured by the Russians early in the war but were subsequently liberated by Austrian and German forces.
AUSTRIA-HUNGARY Hermannstadt (Sibiu)
Vukovar
Upper card mailed from the German FPO 207 in Hermannstadt (Nagyszeben) in the Hungarian Province of Transylvania, where the troops had been preparing for action against Romania. Lower card from the German Harbor Commandant in Vukovar, located on the Danube River just north of the Hungarian border with Serbia. AUSTRIA-HUNGARY Temesvar (Timisoara) ee ewh toyy gM Levele CAT I AO 3p el Nn ae 2 Bae ere Oe eats & timecwdy mM 11,75, Licker Sun Sobtiabeblbe! ; dim Mv Yun fever sir Litho: Ne ten pris ctom port. beth geHs qropse oe. hee Ap By. * ro a4 m ake ‘ y | Te ’ Av yd) 4 iy wap 4 pene bape eg, thy ohn Hi. fa for of A er nf ee ee Ni cee cae nenee ecco ene Vu in Ww a Fieldpost cards sent from the German Airship Base at Temesvar in the Hungarian Province of Banat (now in Romania). The Zeppelin that was stationed there was later reassigned to Bulgaria. AUSTRIA-HUNGARY Pola Ze He : Libor le 2 R. fo fe Sf. Lv tha fla 3 if, f ZL oe , Vi of 4 Aerie —— Lrmnw ae Lp 3 a 4 ae - THY Yin Lp cafe eae wig Diypiy ig 2 LEE Jab hh tlh Li} German naval personnel were assigned to the Austrian naval bases on the Adriatic Sea. Cover above from MSP 98 of the Deutsche Spezial Kommando Pola. Picture postcard of Pola sent from MSP 20 of the Deutsche U- Flotille (submarines). AUSTRIA-HUNGARY Cattaro (Kotor) Fajen eG - H.Deutl2 U-5. ie Tittefnice: DOE Ve Berlin’ C. 2, Marine-Poltbiira, i. “ oe ao ~ a Ths yey Perey apy me, LOTT, ane , y, e. i) We Ay : Lpy IO vas German submarines were stationed at the Austrian base at Cattaro. Cover from "German Mediterranean Submarine Flotilla/Bay of Cattaro." Picture postcards are datelined Cattaro and have notation of U-Boats. Such submarine mail is very scarce and sought after by naval postal historians. MILITARY MISSION IN BULGARIA Bulgaria joined the Central Powers on 6 September 1915 and was a significant participant in the second invasion of Serbia and the occupation of Romania. In addition, its forces served on the Salonica front in northern Greece until the end of the war. Only after the Allies scored a significant breakthrough in that area did the Bulgarians surrender on 30 September 1918. German troops served in a liaison role with their Bulgarian counterparts as well as in logistical and service capacities, and several fieldpost stations were established to handle their mail. chdruckeret, Hamburg 36. # ena ce een Oe . 5 a : / = ees ra ? f r as “ e ee L az tf, lint Mb Sciaiiois eWiiladin cA —— Gewidmet von Hugo SGonome, Bu SA ‘ Ceceere rer reima annem a i ie 4 ‘ ee Yass! os 4 s . Ee ; sai a aie ais Egil ia scoot aad Se Some of the mail from the Military Mission in Bulgaria can be identified by the use of the word "Balkan" either in the unit cachet or dateline. The examples above were all sent through FPO 185 in Sofia. BULGARIA a ak ae Sp >E 4 a ee nd i. - p- aA ox 3 Le Ae oe ey = = ro? ee Mail from the troops in liaison with the Bulgarian forces can be identified by the unit cachets. Examples shown are from the "German Radio Officer with the Bulgarian Third Army" and "Supervision of Military Railways." The latter was sent through the FPO of the Army Group von Mackensen stationed at the time in Uskub. BULGARIA a ak ae Sp >E 4 a ee nd i. - p- aA ox 3 Le Ae oe ey = = ro? ee Mail from the troops in liaison with the Bulgarian forces can be identified by the unit cachets. Examples shown are from the "German Radio Officer with the Bulgarian Third Army" and "Supervision of Military Railways." The latter was sent through the FPO of the Army Group von Mackensen stationed at the time in Uskub. BULGARIA Sofia —_— oo oe ff : putoarig.. y Ae 3 hee pw igg as : XY Z 8 : ; & sf oe ee ee = g R TY oo * me a | : x ‘ \ es eee ! 4 tay Fs 5 Rnvhtis — BULGARE. : e i = YY a ce Tlomencra xapra — Union postale univemeile: : 3 = & BR) | i - : — * { = io aw | > « of 3 oh y a. } > » 1 e. 3 ~E | o&, > K Z / > é : An die | F DON haa Ga) eB UY Bxpress G.m.b.u.,BERLIN Vermittlungsstelle OBERLESUHEN, GBERLESU REN, Much of the activity of the Military Mission was centered in the Bulgarian capital of Sofia. Examples above have cachets identifying use from Sofia, including two different markings from the "German Supervisory Office (Censorship)" and the "Representative of the Royal Prussian War Ministry to the Royal Bulgarian War Ministry." BULGARIA Gumurdjina Plevna Cachets identifying units operating outside the capital are exceedingly elusive. The examples above are from Gumurdjina (today Komotini in Greece) and Plevna. BULGARIA Philippopel (Plovdiv) Sistov oo ED mn cee | Vama APD) | 3 per VMiajana: Kuumap. Xp, WH. Maauuoss, Uasopaues. ING dition A. V. Veltcheff. Bb. Bi B. Besse A Some mail from outlying towns was sent to Sofia for processing by FPO 185. However, as shown, Sistov and Vama had their own fieldpost offices. BULGARIA Seaplane Bases —— cesnpscmeme I, Seeflieger-Ubteilung Slugftation Xanti, B.-Ur a Go : e we? Z oe “ _ ar fo Marinelade! ? LT . j ‘¢ : a a Z € ‘7 || BEES ot oe ee a) gf Gar ike a> The Germans had seaplane bases at Varna on the Black Sea and at Xanthi near the Aegean Sea. The markings of the units stationed there are exceedingly elusive and highly sought after by collectors of naval mail. BULGARIA Snkioeee Caftechiffhafenban Jambo An das ph ele os Frets ere en Heeres = Sire epg ee “ine- Luftsc! v= Trin sutsche Feldpost 177 aa The Germans sent an airship (Zeppelin Schttte-Lanz X) to Bulgaria, where a base was established at Jamboli. (A plan was actually considered to fly the airship to the forces still resisting in German East Africa with critical supplies and mail, but the idea was dropped as the obstacles seemed too formidable.) MILITARY MISSION IN TURKEY The Ottoman Empire joined the Central Powers on 4 November 1914 and later participated in the attack on the Suez Canal and the incursion into Persia. However, for much of the war, the Turkish forces were on the defensive against the Russians in the Caucasus and Eastern Anatolia as well as the British in Iraq and Palestine. After the Allies scored significant breakthroughs in these latter two areas, the Turks surrendered on 30 October 1918. German troops served in a liaison role with their Ottoman counterparts as well as logistical and service capacities. i es * as * nh Constantinople The first German military mail from Turkey was sent via diplomatic pouch from the German Embassy in Constantinople to the Foreign Office in Berlin, where an official cachet was applied and the letters turned over to the postal authorities for delivery. The above are very early examples, postmarked in Berlin during December 1914 and March 1915. The upper cover has marking of the "Personal Adjutant/Military Mission/Constantinople," and the lower one a generic cachet of the Military Mission in Constantinople. TURKEY Constantinople Mh peg 2d OP pt one wk sleep - Ss eae Aosender;: oa . a Freiherr v.d. GOL1z eagcua Feldpostbrief. es Generalfeldmarschail ( SLA} EeSeggy Crosses Hauptquartier Sr, Maj. des Suitans \ Sad A : Konstantinope! : \e l6 4. a - w An die Zentralstelle des Jungdeutsehland—Bundes. v} ii | pn Ae TES ae 7 aA | Nr ' Noh chhrurlay = Go A ae ae oe tal Swe = Weve Balan’ hy2 Sh coe ree We . Most mail from the Military Mission in 1915 and early 1916 was handled by a postal facility (naval P.O. 14) set up on board the steamship General (formerly of the German East Africa Line), which served as a floating headquarters. Examples above from the HQ of Field Marshal von der Goltz, the Field Telegraph Station at Osmanie and the Red Cross Medical Mission. TURKEY Constantinople —_ (Wilhelm Encke) A. K, fe Autom =a 7 Ab | ce bcanc a eet : | By ee » oS 4 i unk oe | Before the Military Mission postmarks with stated locations were introduced, two "generic" markings were applied to mail. One was a metal cds inscribed "Deutsche Militar-Mission/Feldpost" used from 10 October 1915 to 18 March 1916. The other was an undated rubber marking reading "Feldpost/der Deutschen Militérmission.” An example of the latter is shown above on a card from an Austrian artillery officer aiding in the defense of the Gallipoli Peninsula; it is datelined 29 January 1916. TURKEY Fifth Army Headquarters Aufgabestempe) { 1 2 \ : 1 Baa8 : i : Sie gg ST wv : $4 Sad S : oe Pla $2 co : a : ogo a oe ee s § : Mf waste aoe : bE SLeag = ‘i g oma e ee Seo 88 a fas @ Aco 3 Re Afeta fs = We 9 Se ae Se oma “o Qe 3 q ye 2 9 e230 Be ie Aves a ges 5 W ohnung Some of the Military Mission postmarks were identified by unit rather than location. For example, the High Command of the Turkish Fifth Army was assigned to the Gallipoli Peninsula during the period of the Anglo- French invasion. A special postmark inscribed "Milit. Miss./Feldpost/A.O.K.5." was used from 28 November 1915 to 16 November 1916. The upper card is datelined "Gallipoli, 7 March 1916." After the Allied withdrawal, this unit moved out, so the lower card is datelined "Bigali, 30 August 1916." TURKEY Fifth Army Headquarters eS me i act A second type of A.O.K.5. postmark came into use somewhat later, being recorded as used from 6 February 1916 to 5 November 1918. At the time the postcard and registered cover shown above were mailed, the Fifth Army had reached its permanent station at Smyrna. TURKEY Constantinople The Military Mission fieldpost service was authorized on 2 January 1916, with Major Hensel as director. However, the new bilingual (German-Turkish) postmarks were not placed in service until the following month. The postmark of 28 February 1916 on the gray cover is a very early use (ERD 7 February). Note the red cachet on the lower card, which warns family members and friends not to send foodstuff to Turkey. TURKEY Arghana Maden Bosanti Diarbekir IEEE Ps SS Ss Y y % . % > | 2 J , Z ft | = aan rr age @ {L) ‘ [ \4 a / Editeurs: LeBmecd & Landrock. ita Military Mission post offices were established in a number of other locations in Turkey proper. (Offices in areas outside of Anatolia, i.e. Iraq, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria, etc., will be dealt with in separate sections.) The cds for Arghana Maden was in use only from 6 July to 10 October 1918, while Bosanti is recorded from 4 February 1917 to 30 October 1918 and Diarbekir from 17 May 1917 to 8 September 1918. The latter has unit cachet of the "Imperial German Telegraph Unit in Asia Minor." TURKEY Eskischehir Baghdad Railhead ‘ENDET KEINE NAHRUNGSMITTEL NACH DER TUR Fel @e.0 6 t 1 SEES ee eee 2 Fe cael wel ed em SO aoe =e one Som Fe Gee Game ceene Ge See ee ae es a es nt dgacob 8.2.65 i nh oO ¥.iep 2 Ztirich Eigenstrasse 13 Sechweig One of the dreams of the German empire builders was a railway under their control from Berlin to Baghdad. With the occupation of Serbia and Bulgaria as an ally, this goal was now in sight except for construction remaining in central Anatolia. This work proceeded, and a Military Mission post office was established at the end of track (Gleisspitze). Eskischehir cds recorded from 18 June 1917 to 29 October 1918. Gleisspitze known from 21 March 1917 to 4 November 1918. Note that Turkish postage was required (German stamps were not valid) on all mail sent to countries other than Germany and Austria-Hungary. 168090 TURKEY Feldpost Militar- Mission Konia Ni 265 viher dered 22 = ead 8 ; oe =n: eee, 2 2 os 2 ‘ BS: a : $ ge +. Wi g 4 oo N\ = a i t = Wwe > 3 = atili 35 : S wes AQ ae ee = ob 2 8 & : see ie S BEge a5 c £228 is Bere RBS Ba s BS 3 ™ ua 2) ae oi fon = & ts ec Pese2 4 2° aS eG &B \5e5o yr : SS SS c « x Uy te oes = tte) a = 3 eee = } AAD GALLE, : s 3 eos ese 8] & { ef e a se \ Seo E S sl. i gaRE é es 2 i e2S in = ee ee oa et ie = Bess - e ot = ze 223 aa - ate eAu Lt. Sal Se Wobhnung MEE: = BSE S| (Gtrafe und Gausnumimer) - a He ES EF us (8. 17) Baorg Sunier The cds for Konia was in use from 11 October 1916 to 8 November 1918, while that for Kutahia is recorded only from 9 July to 2 November 1918 and Mamure from 15 July 1917 to 7 October 1918. TURKEY Mardin pubrcce ey ggg FABIANA AC. Co a L Py ve The richest collection in LEI. 4 a The last two (alphabetically) Military Mission stations in Anatolia were in Mardin (cds in use from 28 April 1917 to 7 October 1918) and Smyrna (from 2 September 1916 to 28 October 1918. TURKEY Gulek Haidar-Pascha Jedikule Se a oe ie P ay 67 CARTE PO: fy 8g we , — , Are NE CARTE pést iD » ION POSTALE 'GNIVE) In addition to the special Military Mission postal stations, units located in other towns had their own cachets which were applied to mail and forwarded to the nearest FPO for processing. Some of these are very elusive. TURKEY Kadikoi Moda See San-Stefano Pp oe a a + pt 6 oe a f re ee a e BAU-UNTERABTEILUNG 3 | a 2 DEUTSCHEN MILITAR-MISSION | >, Kadi ok LZ wy Eh pet a Sst eee be : Prt h Jay 2 Mockealetege Mc A, Md Firnala ee 7 Mgnt Jaf 4 ere A Sy, Yoo £. joc f WA 1) eae es QPaacrfragh; Pf. at fcr pee Psa, plaid), poof OS GD hg L pe ay hac ne - Panne CARTE $05" fod om tue! ew Pasashn Lolonat... ote \ ss} Nr. 67. Eaite ~ Ne Additional unit cachets from Military Mission offices in Turkey. Of special interest is the marking in red from the Anti-Aircraft Artillery School in San-Stefano. TURKEY Other Markings Pe ee A. me C2272707 rete d ved wre ga bis aH ; La Pon ESRPIUEE aut recto n’est pas aceeplge part sous les ie etrangers. (Sex 1 dastignor al Ress URy Prey | % Adrtsse Postcard from a member of the 509th Motor Truck Column located in Taurus. Postmarked Constantinople but has a special cachet s Seniors Se "From the Interior of 3 Turkey" sometimes applied ~ to mail originating in the S>. hinterland. This is a scarce oS marking with only about 10 we SS examples recorded. = Sf x A FO AS » Xe De = OX 3 . Special rubber postal markings were created for use on parcel post packages. Several examples are shown above, including two different from Constantinople, one from Damascus and one for Fifth Army Headquarters. All are very elusive and sought after by specialists. IRAQ Basra and advanced up the valley of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. The Turks with their German advisers managed to halt the British thrust at Kut-al-Amara, where a siege resulted in a British surrender on 29 April 1916. Later, a new British expedition advanced successfully and captured Baghdad, the capital, on 11 March 1917. Baghdad | | | | The principal threat to the Turkish positions in Iraq came from the Indian Expeditionary Force which landed at ii ae See r Bee Above covers were sent from Iraq through the Military Mission post offices at Constantinople and for Sixth Army HQ (located in Baghdad during October 1916). Unit cachets of the "Iraq Formation" and "Iraq Group" are shown. ae Sixth Army Headquarters _ ee ae _ Bagdad TN oa pss — Ui i Post a - eee Si ~ . ; Abdulaly & Brothers, Baghdad ea oS AUS : ; 4 iG \ s A oe \ Bente Fon Fo ' ee oe Oe PM ape! ; OX al Bh. ae bee tT = 3 date dp Ae { ee = Sit til acaiciaad é os ee gm e@) qe Or Meg Ss ee For Inland Pisisgs only. This space ae be used on The address only hh bel, a ro Re written here. Aa Cnnnbc ak viohle Ohn. iba bed daw: f ef , hv Onaley, ee a oe) tah AnsenderaAyy, a ti, TH, tb, A Bee S es Radio - Gross - ane ation Bagdad te lj Semeis) 2 y : Deutsche Mil.- Mission Kons/pel. et per mes Early on, military mail from Baghdad received the marking (above in red) of the Fieldpost of the 6th Army, which was sent elsewhere (Aleppo in this case) for processing. A 6th Army Military Mission postmark was used in Baghdad during October 1916 (and later in Mosul). TRAQ Sixth Army Headquarters Mossul Feldpoftbries, ‘ Mbfenders Abjender: rect ns Jerse. | Geldpojifarte The A.O.K.6. Military Mission station operated in Mosul from March 1917 until the end of the war. Mosul also had an identified cds, which is known used from 11 July 1917 to 16 October 1918. PALESTINE The first German effort in Palestine took place in early 1915, when Count von Hochberg led an expedition seeking to encourage Moslems in the Middle East to rise up against the British. Later, troops arrived to help in the invasion of the Sinai Peninsula and the attack on the Suez Canal. When these proved unsustainable, the Germans aided the Turks in the defense of Palestine against the attacks of the EEF. However, the Allied forces captured Jerusalem on 9 December 1917. TH Cetolpurt ee | TULROUI : UNION POSTABE“@DUNERSELLE {= 2. ABE POSTALE — | , Correspondance eS ere lresse Sa aeee : Wiebe Snipes 7 (tlie ws Ve eel Ge CC... aaa / ae Ge Wolfers fk Jerusalem a= André Terzis & Fils, Beyrouth — Jerusalem. e as ots & Serie 766. Paldstina No. 23. i i Y Priuted in Germany. ry 5 s ) : ttPly Si Z 3 if 2 Mail from the early efforts in Palestine was sent by diplomatic pouch through the Foreign Office in Berlin. The quantity of such material is very limited. Examples shown here are datelined Jerusalem in March and May 1915. PALESTINE Fourth Army Headquarters gs ty eee : a Lai) LA, son § Lek. Ho .118 - ‘yon 1917, Militar-Mission Feldpost 4, Armee | DME 523 an die Kriegsrechnungsabteilung des k.und k. Kriegsministerims (2 pref} Le _ PSS - y ‘ ease a The first Military Mission postmark used in Palestine was that of A.O.K.4. It operated in Beersheba from 20 to 30 May 1916 and then in Jerusalem from 1 June 1916 to 10 July 1917. Lower cover addressed to Stockholm required franking in Turkish stamps. A very elusive usage from Palestine. | PALESTINE First Expeditionary Corps - Feldpostadresse des Absenders ; Feldlazarett 212 ,,Pacha* durch Marinepustbiro Berlin. The second Military Mission postmark used in Palestine was that of the 1st Expeditionary Corps under Baron von Kressenstein. This unit was located at Beersheba and its cds is recorded as used from 21 June to 2 October 1916. Note unit cachets with designation of "Pascha," which was the code name for the Palestine Group. Cachet on lower card indicates origin from "Feld-Flieger Abteilung (air service)." PALESTINE Bir-es-Seba » Mhlitar-Mission Feldpost WM, 1. By peditionskorps Ne 164 =~ Official registered mail sent from the General Headquarters of the I. Expeditionary Corps in Beersheba. Addressed to the Military Chancellery of the Grand Duke of Oldenburg, this large portion of a cover is one of four examples showing use of the special registry labei of the Corps. PALESTINE Bir-es-Seba 7. Z “9 tees a Fo Mig SSoe ab Ss \ ° Gif J2Y, os S \ o 0G? LxYPFP Lf, JF oN tp er CALEY ¢ Co Seldpoftbrief a Do % a (Shea an (12, 14) Hausnummer) RRO SS OSGSSCR EA OAM. C OC Ole BA RRS Sa The first Military Mission postmark with identified location in Palestine was that of Beersheba. It is recorded as used from 6 October 1916 to 1 November 1917. Unit cachets are from the HQ of the 601-608 Machine Gun Companies and Field Hospital 213. PALESTINE Jerusalem | feldpost Militar. | Mission Jerusalem ‘ius The only other Military Mission postmark with identified location in Palestine was that of Jerusalem, which is recorded as used from 12 July to 31 October 1917. Above examples were used by Austrian soldiers operating with the German mission. PALESTINE Jerusalem y ‘DEUTSCHER eet C # SUSALEM Sa Lip fe J _ mt OIE. f oh, Legs as Lf ie | = ee Sen ene a * Covers with unit markings designating specific origination in Jerusalem are scarce and sought after by Holy Land collectors. Examples above are from the "German District Surgeon" and "District Hospital." Both have the A.O.K. 4 postmark. {y PALESTINE Emmaus (El Kubebe) Souvenire Postcard. i i i. pa — r. - é 3 i eae ee a oe : cc eae : No. 343 ee serie a a oS ef a a ey The most unusual marking related to the Military Mission is that of Emmaus (a 3-hour ride to the west of Jerusalem), where a hospice of the German Society for the Holy Land was located. Postcard has a very faint strike of the marking but is datelined "Emmaus, 24 July 1917." Only 3 postcards and 2 covers have been recorded with this cachet, with dates on the Jerusalem cds from 20 July to 15 September 1917. PALESTINE Bethlehem Haifa Po leh oe wove arten + Fr by ies li a Se (beh y ain 4 ASIT &: or Unit markings designating origination from Palestinian towns other than Jerusalem are even more elusive than those from the Holy City itself. Examples above are from the "German Sanitarium Bethlehem" and "German Local Commandant Haifa." PALESTINE In the latter stages of the war, FPO 663 was the most important military post office serving the German troops in Palestine. From 9 December 1917 to 20 September 1918 it was located at Nazareth. FPO 663 Official registered mail sent from the Royal Prussian Survey Unit to the Headquarters of the Turkish 8th Army. The home-made envelope was created out of a military map (of South Palestine) and mailed through FPO 663 using the elusive special registry label of that office. SYRIA The Turkish Province of Syria encompassed not only present-day Syria but also Lebanon, Palestine and Jordan. Although the two main cities of Aleppo and Damascus were important as logistical centers for the troops operating in the Sinai and Palestine, they were not directly threatened by the Allied advance until very late in the war. In fact, the Allies captured Damascus on 1 October 1918 and Aleppo on the 26th. fe ee oa . 4 Aleppo Damaskus TUROQUIE. UNION POSTALE Es CARTE POSTA Det Den Laas There were two Military Mission postal stations operating in Syria. The cds of Aleppo is recorded as used from 13 April 1916 to 26 October 1918. The Damascus postmark is known from 7 February to 29 October 1917. Rayak Amanus §228 = Vo? aoe 2-19 Mint, } * ees | Gs en oink wiv ioe es a ny y ie EY Sh se S ‘ Nida Ney S) el NS Rie i Gal 0 es | iis Wag ee ISS ot SNS RAKE ININ Ss Py. “yi Coy SS ‘es ‘ x 4 e . a mc Oe onok “ytoeayens Daya arate ape Neue CES uesneyupleM-seAouuRH “Yyeyostesey- -SGSTI}18 A-SpUuo — ee inZ. ZB Le nent nce Losey es, wis ee: t a es Peet ee te aoe ee oe eer Qo WG Harts eweeete” OF Vee ee Fhe oh fb AeA yl = Zo om Bee 2 & o oe Z = LE oA e Leg” fe See oe 4 ee Se aang Z Piece Fe fae, i ee ss Le. : i coe yo a, ae eee, eG Zo ee 5 Sie —E 4 i) ] aad a ) ‘9 pe 7 a Pe“ = so ee Lo, ef : Ds Fe saue: ee BF ey, a= ee ee fi cz po Ces. Ge i ee Pr Elle. Za Hie tg SYRIA A few cachets were known used by small units located in towns in Syria that did not have their own fieldpost offices. Two such examples are shown above from a field hospital in Amanus and a disinfection center in Rayak. TRANSJORDAN As the Egyptian Expeditionary Force advanced, the Turks with their German and Austrian allies gradually retreated into what would later be designated as northern Palestine and Transjordan. Only a handful of the troops were stationed in the latter area. Amman Ny Ta eben yates Lhe ep ‘Dentsche Feldpost 372 This cover was sent through FPO 372, then located in Amman. It is the only recorded example of registered mail from the German forces in Transjordan. FPO (511) 18 November 1917 TRANSJORDAN on Bo Se > ES oO r= Preinpery ence \ ‘ E36 (1.1%) : : Wobnung Whe oy ARAAG (0 NNO (Strafe und Gausnammer) Getdpoitarts/ (Usgaom uagabaSuv ypu fuaaggooun ay AAMAGIUDUIGI waite 219 MouowvUtAos 124 UDG HOES °PHMPS}L) oun uwaqvSiage qu usuoiiarg ‘edrogoourye Hod WgqVjG tq Javg aoununusjodgyrs a : UOIQDISH { 9129910 ’ nae an auSpdiior | : Sunz13q3 | UOP HIVE (apm aagun$ ‘arBa§ “uouuojoy) | az py wanoypiuso§S wWiyju0s Cuoynjony Punjoaw uru2q $B eddnsa woa 299 pou Asean te aguadailpvrr) RRP SPENT EH Oa CODES \ 5 dQUaL GIT Aa Quabyung sl oF ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Wohnung ee ee (Ctrafe und Hausnumn.er) ee to ag | “usqiaat usqetiaiun Said aqubuye ara vu zIo\ 19g GUN usagubiig zoaliiz Wom uagnig, isa fang ‘yWuldjaua sjusmihoig radar aiplynag, | (oan 1atun Gator anuapays) | 7777" 1g 1846 UIA HULIGs? ad1q{u TOP | womoyg uauaqebal prajueddnay 1 0 UGIAQVISD ANTON uSvdinay Dunprepaqe us aS Cuspilsno Sunbaciuyg | lf J Jaq ou nous uayode equator) a Der oe BUD IG \ Riepma. 727 QUID UNG j -MOQUIIgIS above fieldpost cards have cancels without FPO numbers and are believed to have originated from a German Mail that can be identified as being sent from Transjordan is very elusive and sought after by specialists. The liaison officer with the Turkish 8th Army in Dera'a and from a radioman in Amman. PERSIA The Turkish General Staff and its German advisors conceived the idea of a thrust into Persia toward India as likely to cause the Allies to divert manpower from other fronts. In October 1915, Field Marshal von der Goltz was appointed to head a German-Persian Military Mission headquartered in Baghdad, Iraq. By August 1916, Turkish forces crossed the frontier and soon occupied several cities, including Hamadan and Kermanshah. However, in March 1917 the expedition was terminated due to concerns that the Turkish forces would be cut off by Russian and British troops advancing from the north and south, respectively. Wbjender: | Cl. Thevenet & Fils, Alep. The mission did not have an attached fieldpost station but used three different cachets reading "Staff (of) von der Goltz/Special Mission P (for Persia)" to apply to mail which was forwarded to an FPO for processing. The above examples most likely did not originate in Persia but were posted by rear echelon members of the military mission. PERSIA German-Persian Military Mission 37 AGE ae c ee = “Koot” A Village on the Banks a the Gigris. : X ican s J Seppe at iC i ae un : | U PSOE] PESIS E MILT? iR-MISSION A a A te Oe Gly Ll The cachets for this unit were bilingual, inscribed "German-Persian Military Mission" in both German and Arabic. Mail from this campaign is so elusive that only three examples have ever been recorded -- two of a circular type and one a straight-line marking (shown above). Thus, covers and postcards with such markings are often considered the most highly-prized usage by German forces in World War I. LUXEMBOURG THE WESTERN FRONT On 1 August 1914, at the beginning of World War I, German forces entered the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, where they remained during the entire war period, eventually being required to withdraw under terms of the armistice of 11 November 1918. The occupation was a light-handed one, with all administrative functions continuing to be performed by the local officials. In fact, the degree of collaboration between the government and the occupying power was sufficient that after the end of the war, Grand Duchess Marie Adelaide was pressured to abdicate in favor of her sister, Charlotte, on 15 January 1919. Ue: Mion. Joring AA, f, p v sf wr fA o 4 a coring . Lot ff bape, mA, G harag. ngorebng Lh awl pudfle Hoaary. 76. d 5 “ Z Se af ‘ é rd eft 2 fa 40 df oO PPV F9 VWI LEY 1 og. 4 / 4 Y ‘ fe COV] ATOR te b Vile pv, / tft GA TVG. o ¢ , AS Lard SVAF K.D. Feldpoststation No. 1 15 1551 Appropriately, the fieldpost station that was opened in Luxembourg City for the use of the German garrison was designated as No. 1. The above picture postcards of the city were sent without payment of postage by soldiers who wrote "Feldpost” at the upper right. This military franchise was confirmed by the application of unit cachets, with two different ones that were used in Luxembourg being shown above. LUXEMBOURG Luxembourg/Ville | ein eerie tiie ia Jean-Pierre Wallenborn Fe GPE PD gE : Luxembourg. Aeon Foret Avenue de fa Liberté, During the German occupation, civil postal service in Luxembourg continued to operate normally. However, mail addressed to destinations outside the Grand Duchy was routed through a military censorship office in Trier, Germany, as in the case of the two registered covers shown above. BELGIUM In accordance with the long-term war plan developed by Count von Schlieffen, chief of the German general staff from 1891 to 1906, an attack on France would avoid a direct advance through the difficult Ardennes Forest by sweeping across Belgium and outflanking the main French defenses. This plan was set in motion on 4 August 1914 when German troops crossed the Belgian frontier. Although the Belgians resisted, the Germans entered Brussels on 20 August and on the 22nd captured Namur, the last fortress barring the Meuse route into France. Except for a small comer in the southwest, the Germans occupied essentially all of Belgium until the war's end. eat NE RIE TTT re a sees General-Gouvernement in Belgien. Feldpost. . oo % ge ve Aa hh At? we, , LF JO L& LP Heeressa: Sekt.. Ly Nr. Brussel Antwerpen Official cachets of various military units and agencies were widely used during the long occupation period, as indicated by the examples shown above for the two largest cities of Brussels and Antwerp. BELGIUM Bnissel (Brussels) : SSS : eee, Gent (Ghent) Hasselt COMITE PROVINCIAL DE SECOURS ET D’ALIMENTATION POUR LE BRABANT sh O8F 2, Avenue Galilée, n° 3 as we uy : : 27 NS - £85 = = 3 sé“ oS Min, % pS toring © : Ges Monsieur f2 Cea Military governorships were established for the various Belgian provinces. Each of these had their own political structures and offices. Examples are of official mail from the Provinces of Brabant, East Flanders and Limburg. Briigge (Bruges) Arel (Arion) Namur BELGIUM Set ve i on = ist ae “ mean Ea, shag brener ieee 7 ay Aan het Bestuur der Burgerlijke Godshuizen ven Brussel. Miliférgoupernement der Propinz fuxemburg, CARTRERQSTALE, 2 ADRESSE GORRESPONDANCE j G oeena [ MARTE-J08E | ee! Official mail from the Provinces of West Flanders, Luxembourg (not to be confused with the Grand Duchy, which was separated from Belgian Luxembourg in 1831) and Namur. BELGIUM Charleroi Loewen (Louvain) Liittich (Liege) CARTE POSTALE POSTKAART CORRESPONDANCE é lb f 2 $ AAs ’ £4 A Kaiferlid Deut[he Bergoerwaltung far den Bergbaubezirk Latticd (Provinzen Littid, Cuxemburg, Limburg und Antwerpen) Cutticd Ae Reidjsdien(tfacdhe Official mail also exists from many Belgian cities and towns during the occupation, of which some representative examples are shown above. BELGIUM Kortrijk (Courtrai) Ostende Wad oy {x BY fa Te eg o Oh Lae: eee “Bb “74 Ge ND Additional examples of official mail from smaller towns. BELGIUM Supreme Headquarters Feldpostamt deg Tohen Hauptquartiors das Kdnigliche stellvertretende Generalkommando des V.Armeekorps | & The German supreme military headquarters was established in Belgium, located at Spa for most of the time. There were three special postmarks for mail originating at this HQ, shown above. The later version has "West" added to the terminology, to distinguish this activity from Field Marshal von Hindenburg's HQ in East Prussia. BELGIUM Naval Stations Edition ,Priamos” Bruges. » Aletha o fae “Weve Carte posialétint 1, ch decrbe, IPS, en German naval vessels patrolled the English Channel from bases in occupied Belgium, especially the port of Ostende. Above examples show cachets of units operating out of Flanders, including seaplanes, torpedo boats and submarines, i.e. "U-Flotille Flandern." BELGIUM =Pofttarte Postage Stamps Postal card plus two values of the overprinted set cancelled on the first day of issue. Within two months of the invasion, civil mail service was restored in the areas of Belgium occupied by the Germans. On 1 October 1914 a set of nine stamps of the "Germania" series was overprinted "Belgium" and new values in Belgian centimes and francs. This series has "Centimes" spelled out and high values stated as "_Fr. _C." BELGIUM Postal Stationery “ _ POE RAIATAL f — ae Kartenbrief . Wohi Dofttarte Mit Antwortfarte Pofttarte ees ; mit, Antwortfarte ves Poftfarte mif Antwortfarte Carte postale avec réponse payee ~ A #Y Postal stationery was also overprinted for use in Belgium. Above examples show letter card as well as single and double postal cards with the 1914-15 overprints. The latter comes in two versions, one both German and French. BELGIUM Postage Stamps In 1916, a new longer series of overprints was issued. This time the currency overprint is abbreviated "Cent." and the high values as "_F. Cent." Not all values were issued simultaneously, so philatelic "set" covers show a mixture of the first and second issues. BELGIUM Postage Stamps dfSLtMA Litt LOC LP SS) Y b 5 : é 2 : eA, oe a oye ite Ubermachungsstelle Bréissel, ELEROM A244 4522 es fp ee Brilssel I “4 The rarest of all of the occupation stamps in genuinely used condition is the 75 Cent. on 60 pfennig. There was a large supply of the earlier 75 Centimes stamp in stock, and the new version was not offered at the post offices until the former was depleted. Thus, the new issue did not come into use until just before the end of the occupation. Many cancelled to order stamps are available, but specialists seek them on registered covers, of which only a few dozen exist. This example has a receiving backstamp in Berlin on Armistice Day. BELGIUM Postal Stationery pe Le eee, N Aocceee: pe re ahi j ggre ee? | 4, | | Second overprint (Cent. abbreviated) postal cards issued in 1916 exist in two types. The initial version had "Postkarte" printed to the right of the centerline and the second had it above the centerline. BELGIUM Postal Stationery Doftfarte - mit Antwortfarte Pofttarte mit Antwortfarte rt & e postale- =~ stay ace TTIONSO VIURGA cE 2 eyagsnud Double postal cards with attached reply cards were also issued with the 1916 overprints. Postal Stationery Pofttarte mit Antwortfarte The final postal cards for Belgium were a provisional issue. There was an excess inventory of 8 centimes cards without country name (issued for use in northern France). A small supply of these was reoverprinted "Belgien" in 1918. However, the name didn't line up with the denomination the same as on the earlier issue. Both single and double cards were so overprinted but, since Michel does not price the latter in used condition, they may not exist. BELGIUM ame, Wohnort und Wobnung deg Abienders Naam en woonplaats van den afzender Nom et domicile, de a Poftoeermert Bestelbericht Constatations du facteur iff verlangt ie d iste Demandé dela Verweigert Geweigerd 02 Refuse Special Services “Tegen “Toriebetne Remboursemer’ Wobhnung (Strafe a. Liv.) Adres (straat en ~~ Adresse (rue + — Deutfehe Poftverwaltung in Belgien. ; | Dutisch Bestuur der Posterijen in Bogie Sd Administration des Postes Ailemandes en Belgique. Patetta: |Anbet oe 3 : : : - oe a | Hierbij . Ci-joint letin d’expédition. _abl der Soll- Getal der douane-verklaringen mbre, fle déeclarations en douane: Pi ‘inbalteerflarungen* .........-... Sveimarten. Posezegels. Timbres-postes. i i : i ! i i i. ell i Se in geore: Plaats van bestemming ., Lieu de as Wobnung (Strage u. Ke Adres. (straat en n°). Adresse ime et n°) | || Poftgewichs Gewieht .....3%.... Poids * Im innerbelgifdhen Dertebr nicht erforderlich. In het binnenlandsch yerkeer nict noodig. Pas nécessaire dans le service intérieur belgo. A20 Bdgien @.19) The Reichspost had printed special postal documents for Belgium. These were printed in German, Flemish and French. Above examples are cards used for the mailing of C.O.D. mail and parcel post. BELGIUM Commemorative Postmark sae SI ROI AT eS NREL TTY Serr ee re Soziale Fu ore a * 6 ‘Ausstellung eget In 1916, the Germans permitted a Social Welfare Exhibition (against aging, sickness and accidents) to be organized in Brussels. This event provided the opportunity for the only commemorative postmark to be used in all of the World War I occupation areas. There was also a special postcard issued for the occasion. That shown above was sent on 21 September 1916 as a fieldpost card from Brussels to Frankfurt am Main. BELGIUM Delivery Services In the very early days of the occupation, a Messieur Armand Berhaut organized a private delivery service in Brussels, even printing a "stamp" to pay the 20 centimes delivery charge. This enterprise functioned from 15 to 21 October 1914, when it was suppressed by the German authorities, who imprisoned M. Berhaut on the charge of defrauding the Reichspost. BELGIUM Delivery Services ‘y 4 : fear 1 (0.- a co 2 Cerrespondance = Brings U WM bok a rquie, Bru af 3 Dey vo La: eb! off ns gal wary * [AYA Uk : re caligeplet a. BOSE Be d it. Bascogr, 94, ru | E ~~ | OTS a4 Oo ed | C ? We, wry E gent wee A unit of Boy Scouts (Pfadfinderabteilung) was organized to provide prompt delivery of mail from the Kommandantur (German military HQ in Brussels) to the main post office. Examples shown here include one with a cachet of the service and the other with a manuscript endorsement. BELGIUM Postage Stamps Trial Overprints In summer 1917, the German authorities devised a plan to create separate administrative areas for Flemings and Walloons to gain support among ethnic activists. This program went so far as to have the Reichsdruckerei in Berlin produce some trial overprints reading "Flanders" and "Wallonia" in early 1918. The plan was not implemented (probably due to the realization that most Belgians would resent partition of the country) but did result in a handful of philatelic souvenirs. Grobe reports that two sets of the Flanders overprints exist in private hands in addition to one in the Postal Museum. No Wallonia stamps have been reported. BELGIUM Postal Stationery Trial Overprints Poftfarte mit Antworttarte p ofttarte mit Antworttarte Carte postale avec réponse payée Poftfarte mit Wntworttarte pD oftfarte mit Antworttarte Carte postale avec réponse payée FRANCE Although the Germans were able to sweep through Belgium and into Northern France, a decisive victory eluded them. Due to overoptimism about their early successes, they weakened the key right wing by shifting divisions to besiege several resisting fortresses and to counter the Russian thrust into East Prussia. In addition, the Germans wheeled their forces eastward above Paris rather than including the capital in the encirclement as called for in the Schlieffen plan. This exposed the German right to an eventual French counterattack from Paris, which ended in the defeat at the Marne. As a result, the campaign in France turned into a bloody four-year stalemate, with the Germans continuing to occupy areas in the north but unable to break through the Allied lines. Lille St. Quentin CARTE POST, CORRES PONDANCE i MG Although fieldpost cards and letters back to Germany were free of postage, items mailed to other destinations required payment. In the early days of the occupation, German (and Bavarian) stamps were used, as in the case of the items above sent to Belgium and Switzerland. em ntaerory Y Edit. Jules Lecaillette, Givet. FRANCE R Ne 237 Aubrives Fumay Givet - sey an WANE a : e alae & hy wr} dry VY) va ay hl tyr yan Vee SW Wr} x On jv agin) $7 bogX€ coh, Occupation post offices were established in only eight towns in France, the first at Givet on 13 January 1915. Maubeuge and Fumay opened on 1 June and 30 June 1915, respectively, and the others in the following year. The postmarks of most of these offices had the name of the town at the top and "Frankreich (France)" at the bottom of the cds. These postmarks are found primarily on philatelic, fieldpost or official mail as the French civilians made little use of the service and didn't wish to use the German stamps in any event. FRANCE = ebeyys ie 28 te Abode Syne RULE Tee y ie AY te Pe ica ae eya wing J De pie yae vp a foe yt ; yt vagey ete wey ong : 7 Lane v oe eo 7 SO. y ne Haybes Maubeuge Vireaux-Molhain Klischee und Druck von E. Nister, Niirnberg — All of the occupation post offices in France were closed on 31 January 1918, with the exception of Hautmont, Jeumont and Maubeuge, which ceased operations in October 1916. Covers from Vireaux-Molhain are considered particularly elusive, with only about a dozen examples recorded. FRANCE Cambrai Caudry Florenville cane SR FABRICA NTS DE TULLES CAUDRY (NORD) ™ SS tan ON NN NNN ee Forst¢ mt We Var wifferr Fistdaly ite: ‘ if VA li A AY ov Votezene : Bele Toe Wie Atta. : Military governments were established for various French cities. Many of these had their own administrative cachets, which were applied to mail sent via the fieldpost. Examples of mail are from locations in the occupied parts of the Provinces of Aisne, Ardennes and Nord. FRANCE : aon Grn. 90. 4 pe EF = Bates ey Lille iw OG (Bt Miys: a Aer ble bein f | Oa OGG ee. open A q “NE 0% Ww S-+ES 1007/1II. B Examples of mail showing cachets of towns in occupied Northern France. FRANCE Longuyon Longwy catury ‘A 0p sumppueqysrapied JAP nua An * durch Landst. Jnf, Batl, Leonbegg Because of the proximity to the front, the availability of administrative cachets on mail from areas of occupied France is necessarily more limited than for those territories located well behind the lines. Thus, considerable effort is required to assemble a reasonable variety of markings. FRANCE Paes Correspondance . Ub: LP Jue. Cig NS bo ans ee 9 Lt ag Z, Ha CLE ve FRANCE #8 ae 4 1 ®& anh y4N | ry Thiaucourt Valenciennes Additional examples of cachets used in occupied France. ERNE Postage Stamps z 5 Berlin W,. 8 Fevedeichste afse 166,'- FS. MIKULSR) Stamps overprinted for Belgium were used in Northern France from December 1914 until 15 December 1916 as the Germans did not issue special stamps for occupied France until 1 December 1916. Even then, the 12-value set of overprints was "generic" in that they merely expressed the value in French currency without any country identification. In any case, there was little use of civil mail, and essentially no usage of the higher values, which are only found infrequently on philatelic covers. FRANCE Postal Stationery Kartenbrief BD YY ee i ( Lud dinetinadePofitorte TEE NEN: ee ea = Dofttarte i L lassie ® ha rwachungssiets me bg aes ve oftfarte eixel, Ag ses i a Se : - Antwort arts os wae? : . e >>> >>PPD FFI DP DFD3 DDD DD¥222>2> D7 D979) Pe Pofttarte mit Antwortfarte oh ‘ jegierns), soumolster, hia Germania postal stationery was also overprinted and issued in Northern France on 1 December 1916. These included a 15 centimes letter card as well as 8 and 10 centimes single and double postal cards. FRANCE Postal Stationery Sivilarbeiterpofttarte Because of a large number of "guest workers" from Belgium and Northern France, the German authorities prepared special postal cards for their use. The first version was issued on 1 December 1916 with special inscription at the top. (The marking in red reading "Zivilarbeitersendung" was a non-postal handstamp but still of interest in that it was applied by local military authorities on cards sent by civil workers.) FRANCE Postal Stationery Ziv beiterpatkarte Bee es aH NY aid) eg yg * | [DEUTSCHES REIG ere SS bee oe a! = % : 2 2 fhe de BtbMbK.. pees if Cree. 2/2 3 See jeep? Zivilanbeticapelanie " : 5 Z 3 poe jit Adreffe des Abfenders: 8 : 3 Expéditeur: S oe z 2 Soe Nom: Ort: re hg ee —s Stra&e: ae. oF : mp. ae ee Zivilarbeiterpoitkarte Abfender: Expéditeur: Name: rar atlis : Nummer des Nationales: .. Loh Be wt Deutiche Feldpoft Nr. ee le’ Killen Dn Several other versions of the Civilian Workers Cards were printed on chalky paper. The first, issued in August 1917, had the lines for the return address reading vertically. One for inbound messages was issued in May 1918 with the inscriptions in blue. The final card, issued in September 1918, was for outbound messages but the lines for the return address were horizontal. THE EASTERN FRONT POLAND Although they were able to occupy small areas in the western part of Russian Poland, the primary German effort on the Eastern Front in 1914 was defensive, i.e. to stem the Russian advances in East Prussia and Austrian Galicia. However, a successful breakthrough at Gorlice in the following year resulted in the capture of Warsaw on 5 August 1915 and forced the Russian army to retreat from the rest of Poland by the end of September, which then remained under German and Austro-Hungarian occupation for the balance of the war. Kaijerlich Deutjdjes Generalgouvernement afi MWhtething Polutjde Wehrmacht. | Dienltbvrief. Heeresfache. Bb Oia Sano en ie RO ne ea aus Warschau (Warsaw) Lodz Official cachets of various military units and agencies were used during the extended occupation period, as indicated by the examples shown above for the two most important cities of German-occupied Poland. POLAND Czenstochau Grojec bly ; hy ~ ~ Kalisch ae & he htt eee go 6 BCEMIPHbIM NOYTOBLIM COI08’b, POCCIA. Zs 4 UNION POSTALE UNIVERSELLE RUSSIE. bt es Ee: ’ : NOUTOBAA KAPITOUKA — CARTE POSTAL Batis fret, J, FbxE. 7I~ BM rvboasit baa! A Wacna Nr. 35, .1915 “Fr. Schmidt, Kunstanstalt, Posen 0./1. en ys ; bs ze 4} 4, pare Mail with official military or administrative cachets exists from many Polish cities and towns during the occupation, of which some representative examples are shown above. POLAND Postage Stamps Trial Overprints reading " Poland" Desiring a resumption of civil mail service in occupied Poland, the authorities prepared a set of trial overprints reading "Poland." However, it was considered confusing in that these would not be used in Austrian or German Poland. Therefore, when the new stamps were issued on 12 May 1915, they were overprinted "Russian Poland." POLAND Postal Stationery fond abe ado Ge id. Gas vied etree Dofttarte ON 8 OE vege eas A ar Chiodzeatay . a See 253i A. ruth oh tes Wohne c 6. op arettenn Site, Daag S Poftfarte : “2 = mit Wntwortiarte eel —s As in Belgium and France, Germania postal cards were overprinted for use in "Russian Poland." Of this issue, only the 5 pfennig single and double cards were issued. eee eee POLAND Postage Stamps Kaiserliche Polizei-Direktion fiir das Industrie-Gebiet des Kreises Bendzin in. Sosnowice a ay Uae aN ) In 1916, administrative responsibilities for Russian Poland were finalized, with Germany in charge of the northem part of the territory (known as the General Government Warsaw) and the Austro-Hungarians the southern area (known as the General Government Lublin). On this basis, a second German set overprinted with the new name of the administrative region, was issued on 1 August 1916. Note that the 15 pfennig value comes in two colors. POLAND Postal Stationery Ce Pofttarte mif Antwortfarte Gad Choo, Sap bow say oe. ae SL. ee CRs ak | | : | He a7 Werir MLE Sue der Disud Lebo tofeers See olete ae Srand Spotl Hn : gee es Mire tt eo 3 In 1916, cards with the "Gen. Gouv. Warschau” overprints were provided on 5 pfennig single and double cards in the version with the "Postkarte" to the right of the centerline. POLAND Postal Stationery Dofitarte : a Antwortfarte = A second series of cards with "Gen. Gouv. Warschau" overprints was issued later in 1916. These had the inscription "Postkarte" above the centerline. POLAND Delivery Services oe a yf thence MonH0s4 a bps 2 en Bo fpf. phe 4 Noone a ' So ee ee othr oad sr. A a a Ta eS JAE 8: a Se = —— yin \ ee Wydawpictwo S; The German postal service only delivered mail between post offices. Thus, an opportunity was provided for local delivery services, which were created in Warsaw and several other communities. The Warsaw town council established such its service on 23 September 1915. Ten different local stamps, plus numerous varieties with different color overprints, were used until 20 October 1916. After that date, stamps were discontinued and a tax paid marking in various denominations was applied to the cards and letters to be delivered. POLAND Delivery Services : ‘ ore ™ F : s 8. Neiberger, Tomaszow. Ly »S \ - Ht a ; NN y Ve : Krakowie Jraprer « ratten 4 = Ze fae Vea Va ae , fe C Pe fe, : : No $D/ ne ee ee See f ee ont “epee Vf l en (st) eee Let2 4 at a Levow Len In Lodz, the local delivery service was organized by the volunteer firefighters. The payment of the 5 pfennig delivery fee was attested by the application of a cachet inscribed "L.F.F. (Lodzer Freiwillige Feuerwehr)." The first version of this marking had a double ring, but later a single ring was introduced. POLAND | Nowo-Georgiewsk Nowo Radomsk _ Siedlce w Siedicach, Additional examples of official military or administrative cachets are shown above. POLAND Jasna Gora Monastery The town of Czestochowa and the nearby Monastery of Jasna Gora were in the German zone of occupation. | However, for reasons of religious sensitivity, it was decided that Roman Catholic Austrians rather than Protestant Prussians should be assigned to guard the institution. Thus was created the anomaly of the Jasna Gora Enclave with an Austrian military presence within the area of the General Government Warsaw. Special cachets exist. LITHUANIA A renewed German offensive on the Eastern Front in September 1915 successfully advanced into Lithuania and entered the capital of Vilnius on the 18th. At that point, the Russians no longer posed a threat, and the occupation continued uninterruptedly until the end of the war. Wilna (Vilnius) Kowno (Kaunas) oe Whee , clon ff, Me ; ; eer ; by Yopeys Pasitdvrrey Ware Der Mauseturm erhielt seine heutige Gestalt im Jahre a VV MA, 1886, besteht jedoch bereits seit der Mitte des XUL Jahr- || C7 AM hunderts. Die grausig deren Schauplatz er bildet, NAA 4 POSLK? RCE siehe in Wilhelm Rul Rheinischem Sagenbuch. Heute g ¥ Vv : 2 5 a a Wa, Schiffahrt.. Gegen- Ze “Sa, : és és @ c ‘Wobnung BO ee i ee eee ; - ec eee ip AA rcs Son Ae SS. ss Some of the military mail originating in Lithuania bears the cachets of administrative units. All of the examples shown above incorporate the use of "Litauen" in some connection. LITHUANIA Kowno [FESTUNGSPOST KOWNOT | 24,7. 16 i i The troops within Kaunas developed their own internal mail delivery system, with mail addressed to officials within the fortress or city garrison being specially noted and delivered by courier. Such items can be identified by the marking "Festungspost" or "Garnisonpost," both of which are quite elusive. LITHUANIA Wilna Militarkreisamt Wilna-Stadt Stadtkreiskasse eT OO LE LAL EPL EE ILL EEE LI LL RI II I An SNE No Gy, S Oe nite » [—~ 7 ig Geore Preuss, Berlin S, 14 ¥ i \ see eee Se : : — : = gz. : ee = - ~~) Pi > = - se \, > S oe — , Se » : Representative cachets related to administrative activities in Vilnius by the German occupation forces. Commander in Chief East LITHUANIA > OAS ae y el of The German troops operating in the Baltic area came under the command of the Oberbefehlshaber Ost, which translated roughly into the "Commander in Chief East." This headquarters had its own postal markings, as shown on above examples of a registered letter and special delivery parcel card. In addition, a cachet of the commander of the air service in the theater is shown. LITHUANIA Delivery Services The only example of local delivery service in Lithuania took place in Vilnius (Wilno). There the payment of the 10 pfennig delivery fee was attested by the application of a circular marking inscribed "Paid/10 pf." Such usage is elusive, and the example shown here is on an inbound postal card from Warsaw. LITHUANIA Postage Stamps Herrn K. W. Friedr. Schafer Frankfurt a. M. Kaiserstrafie 2 *HOLLERBAUM & SCHMIDT - BERLIN-N-65 As civil postal service opened in the area, a set of 12 stamps overprinted "Postgebiet/Oberbefehlshaber Ost" (in abbreviated form), meaning Postal District of the Commander in Chief East was issued on 15 January 1916. Although uninspiring, this wording left open the extent of the territories in which the stamps could be used, pending further German penetration into Latvia and Estonia. LITHUANIA Postal Stationery oo 2 Poftfarte ae hilar 28 Bo ee Ce ee. ke ee fe o 5 The first series of postal stationery involved the 5 pfennig single and double cards overprinted "Postgebiet/Ob. Ost" which were issued on 15 January 1916. These cards had the “Postkarte" to the right of the centerline. LITHUANIA Postal Stationery ate ay, _— FetzAn 2 a bE ET) , se — S “iy pofttattes SS as roy “ee ¢ ” 5 Br isf- | . a mut Wtntwortfarte 4 o 4 Ad Nes *¥y tn Gilad | Pofttarte S SEs ae aa | oe Poftta £€ mit Untworttarte Carte postale avec réponse payée Sat The second series of stationery was overprinted on the cards with "Postkarte" above the centerline. LITHUANIA Polish Districts Bayi “Banik der Ostpreusse et oe clerek Geschaitse! th alle effollo| 2 | Kénigsbe: a x Wr. An anomalous geographic situation developed with respect to the easternmost districts of Russian Poland, including Bialystok, Grodno and Suwalki. For purposes of administration, these were not included in the General Government Warsaw but placed under the Commander in Chief East. Therefore, they have been included in this exhibit under Lithuania even though Bialystok and Suwalki are located in Poland today and Grodno was Polish from 1919 to 1939 (although it is in Belarus today). LITHUANIA Late Postmarks with wording "Litauen" — Late in the war, perhaps to give recognition to patriotic feelings among the Lithuanians, the final towns to receive postmarks had the word "Litauen (Lithuania)" added at the bottom of the dial. These are among the rarest of the occupation postmarks for this territory as only one of them (Georgenburg -- Jurbarkas) was actually issued on 10 September 1918 before the Germans signed the Armistice, and those issued for five other towns (including Uzjany -- Utena) were first used on Armistice Day. All of these cancels were replaced by those of independent Lithuania during December, so that their period of use was limited to a few weeks. LITHUANIA Bialystok Forwarding Station Trial Printing of Receipt Stamp, apparently accepted for use by the Forwarding Station. Receipt stamp for 25 pfennig AL fabarinshs MMM La trosse HIP. oo Based on an order of the C-in-C East, a letter forwarding station was established in Bialystok so that inhabitants of the area could provide news to and request news about relatives abroad. Above are examples of such requests to Russia and Sweden. Initially, a receipt stamp of 25 pfennigs was issued on 3 July 1916 but, on 18 October, the fee was raised to 1 mark and the stamps appropriately surcharged. Note that there are two different cancellations: "Stadthauptmann” and "Militarkreisamt." LATVIA The late 1915 German offensive up the Baltic Coast resulted in the occupation of southern Kurland. Events were then relatively quiet on this front for two years, until a renewed advance resulted in the capture of Riga, the capital of Latvia, on 3 September 1917. By the Treaty of Brest Litovsk signed in March 1918, the Soviets gave up all Claims to the Baltic states, thus permitting the Germans to occupy northern Latvia without resistance. Libau (Liepaja) Mitau (Jelgava) Windau (Ventspils) tigsberg i. Pr.u Ostseebad Cranz s @ Neen ooae’ 8 ic. es y, : g : ee f 5 Soe Breevcoer ten ee etn 5 IBA PAG Gl. 5 — = e a Se : 7 : Sirage und Hausnummer é as awe Fo6 (2.14 Some of the military mail originating in Latvia bears the cachets of administrative units. All of the examples shown are from cities captured in the first offensive. LATVIA Naval Stations reidlin, Libau. EF Sr ad df fa 242 HOYTOBAA KAPTOIKA: AEE Ged, S| forgatiifc p * CARTE POSTALE. $2) Stempa|°| 26. OK Lo 2 Verlag Lena & Rudolff-Riga, No. 226.) 6 The German Navy was very active in the area and utilized the occupied harbors in Latvia as bases for its Baltic fleet. Examples shown above of naval unit cachets from Libau, Riga and Windau. LATVIA Naval Stations ~ Weldpoststation | Nr. 468-7 Nb 220 ~ |} Specific naval units are recognized in the cachets shown above, including the seaplane base at Libau. Registered cover is from the Headquarters of the Submarine Flotilla in Kurland and sent through FPO 168 at Libau. U-Boat mail from the Baltic is very scarce and avidly sought after by naval specialists. Postage Stamps LATVIA “BNL Gagy or a + NU GS R Riga ‘Seecsasilenbicnan, {LLU 98 CMngere |, 7. eptea nm. 29.0. 1h. The German post offices in Latvia used the standard "Oberbefehlshaber Ost" overprints that were current elsewhere in the Baltic area. ESTONIA As the Soviets negotiated to withdraw from the war, the Russian army evacuated the Baltic area. Simultaneously, the German forces moved north from Riga and entered the Estonian capital of Reval on 25 February 1918. The occupation remained there until the Armistice was signed in November 1918. Narva ee Reval (Tallinn) a trey. eee | ev by Packlatty © ae len that, hlevdh me [. CLAY ye ——— Me. “tc / MRCELE 1 laa, Because the occupation of Estonia came so late in the war and lasted only a relatively short period, military mail with administrative cachets from the cities there is scarce. ESTONIA Postage Stamps : are oo a . Koy Narwa M127 ey f As was the case elsewhere in the Baltic, the post offices in Estonia used the standard "Oberbefelshaber Ost" overprints. Examples from Dorpat, Narva and Reval are shown above, including the use of a 3 pfennig (printed matter rate) stamp on a newspaper wrapper. ESTONIA Dorpat Provisionals haar Deity; og Shortly after the Germans arrived in Dorpat (Tartu), there was a demand for mail service. The local commander authorized the overprinting of Russian stamps and postal cards with a new denomination in German currency , i.e. 20 pfennigs for postcards and 40 pfennigs for letters. The provisional stamps, which were only valid for postage from 5 to 22 March 1918, were cancelled with a straight-line "Dorpat" and censored in manuscript with red ink. Mail was then forwarded to Riga subject to further censorship (note marking of capital "R" in a circle). There, "Ob. Ost" stamps were affixed and postmarked without additional charge. FINLAND German troops did not go to Finland as an occupying force but to support the Finns against both the Soviets and the local Red Guards. After the Bolshevik revolution in Russia, the Finnish parliament declared independence on 6 December 1917. In the absence of a Finnish army, a force of White Guards was organized under Baron Mannerheim. This contingent, supported by an expeditionary force of 12,000 Germans which arrived in April 1918, successfully cleared the country of Russian soldiers. ae Pep POSTIKORTTI | POSTKORT SUOMI FINLAND Helsingfors (Helsinki) Borga (Porvoo) , ZZ ay Ae a (eP f— A Sn oS: ay fi SS Mk : aw o oe 7 des Be Rate SAR EN F | 2See* Cle ae a SEAMPA PT | & ae , woe Ne eedcleden Thad Coragl = AN} KR Pine 7 8 as a Gace Lee ee e\ awh . ss i i \ |. Aree “ i ek aN \ \~ th | ei aA [3 ny fs Ab ; arahe Py RE UNION POSTALE UNIVERSELLE ae = CARTE POSTABE Import Fi (Ge (8! sane The German forces in Finland were in organized units and enjoyed regular fieldpost service. (Postage was not required, so the Finnish stamp on the upper card was affixed as a souvenir.) Manuscript return addresses on upper and middle cards from Helsinki read "Staff of the Baltic Division" and "Office of the German General in Finland (Baltic Division)." FINLAND Hango (Hanko) Kajaani Lavansaari Island i wR ool Pe : ‘ % 5 2 >, Wuori, Kirjakauppa, Kajaani. No. 28. testoteg” fuscit a \ 1, AW an af eer eer ry rt a | UNION POSTALE UNIVERSELLE fina, We MOM, Jy, 7p 6 | ar a = _SUOMI —- FINLAND \ ¥y\ : ( f E> xr ge ¢ \ Wy a c ee | AN aie 2 CAMAAMA Se eee ee gene Men aM ci esis VWyy \ Ve ot VAY CNY ‘ AM my Awww, yey aan aw A Wray Manan gi n y wy 1 \y } ‘\\ Y i \ 2 ny WW \n V9 OY co. ; ea Vi hwy At 4 4 ~ mM BVA MOOI MVS awl, \ i \ y -\ Wy yw \V AW \s ea h 1 aww {> \ \ AW ws eA) Pietnr ale } v ty A. ah | Bo Vy \ av i Vy ( \- Pot aye (ANAS oy shana es \ V hwnen ae AN Aww : nw \Ny 8 nase Ny x \4 : 1 C \sJ aay “AM Nt / y. => @: /\ * uv my on on 4 os ML Mn As compared to Helsinki, German fieldpost from smaller Finnish communities is more difficult to acquire. The above examples have the locations specified in the dateline and are picture postcards of the the actual locations. BELARUS In its peace negotiations with the Germans, the Soviet government agreed to withdraw from all non-Russian territories, including Belarus (White Russia). As a result, German forces advanced eastward in February 1918 and occupied the capital, Minsk, without resistance. Although Belarus declared its independence from Russia on 25 March 1918, the German forces remained in control until the end of the war. z eo. eS Minsk Crk Boanitraste art der Kaiser! dentsehen “ya Ja 5 RINSE | ouchhandlung der Buga Homel, Gesamtansicht von Homel. ease PRT RRR “hhandlungen, Heeresgruppe Eichhorn. Gspssiq q nvidia ‘Belo A-Zn9tyoye HY The German fieldpost accompanied the troops into Belarus and set up military postal stations in key locations. Above examples show cachets from some of the principal towns in the area during the final months of the war. BELARUS Brest Litovsk Eskabdrow Kolonne a Bataillon Whteilung Komp. “Batterie Wafgabeftempel Sy ie gl fe i 3 = ‘ be Ve as 2 A ae oe tf a tt race oe cu s ee o toc : , g es = : = ae (Stra ar) } — eS t of Lc xi so 54 13 Gs rr j LAS) Poet a i vy +5 eS é £3 estes M fo és Z rh OE § i &p VL | nt Bye egg ane / | ¢ f 18 Although Brest Litovsk is in western Belarus today, it was captured by the Germans on 25 August 1915 at the time that Poland was being overrun. Although the city is primarily known as the location of the signing of the treaty by which Russia withdrew from the war, it was a also a center of German administrative activity. Asa result, a wide variety of unit cachets originated there, a few of which are shown above. BELARUS Postage Stamps Registered cover from Minsk to Dorpat in Estonia. Because of the destination being outside the zone of operations of the 10th Army, 40 pfg. in additional franking of Germania stamps was required. Vy D7 Vv Ihe CY Dor a Ornp. pe eet UGOC G44... Postcard used internally from Borisov and franked with 40 kopek surcharged stamp. An additional 20 kopeks was charged as indicated by the violet [ee rectangular box reading Pe "Doplatit (postage due)." The Reichspost did not undertake to handle civil correspondence in Belarus. However, the commander of the German 10th Army decided that such a service was necessary and even had his printing works prepare stamps. The first two values were inscribed in Cyrillic "Control Stamp" and had denominations of 30 and 60 pfg. The first stamp was later overprinted "For Postage/Paid" and a new value of 40 k(opeks). These stamps were issued in August 1918 but gradually discontinued in the subsequent months. | RUSSIA Under the provisions of the Brest Litovsk Treaty, the Bolsheviks were required to divest themselves of all of the non-Russian territories of the former empire, including Finland, the Baltic provinces, Poland, Belarus, Ukraine and Transcaucasia. Treaty Negotiators ee Items above sent through the German fieldpost office in Brest Litovsk by participants negotiating the treaty. Postcard sent by A. Toscheff, Bulgarian Minister in Vienna who signed the treaty on behalf of his government. Cover sent by L. Sachle, a member of the German Diplomatic Corps and delegate to the conference. RUSSIA Rostov on Don Taganrog 4 TOPFOBbIN hom n° {cP y LI G “b Vv Hen Poctos» H-f., 6. Canosan, 45 TPO eee Rostoff s/Don. . HbI-HOUTOBLHT C0105 D_ POCA. ~UNION- POSFALE-UNTYERSEE r ° Su fe aS mB e ef B i S" £Q ea © ae g 3. EC eo hy Most of the German occupation forces were deployed in the areas detached from the former Russian Empire, not in Russia proper. The only exceptions were at the fringes of the divested territory, including Rostov and Taganrog in the south, which were occupied for logistical reasons. Mail from Rostov is very elusive; the only postmark used was an unnumbered fieldpost cancel, so covers must be identified by unit cachets. The location (Taganrog) is mentioned in the ‘text on the postcard. RUSSIA Pleskau (Pskov) s Al Ag Russian postal card with t&. cachet of the "Hospital and Residence of the German Commission in St. Petersburg" carried by diplomatic pouch to Pleskau. There it received a refugee camp marking and was turned over to the fieldpost office to be forwarded to Berlin. Herrn Br. Hans D@hmann 2 © 20 Philippsthal s/Werra Pleskau was the only city occupied by the Germans in the north of Russia. No civil post office was in operation, but a fieldpost station was located there, and a single-line marking reading "Pleskau" was used on civil mail from 27 July 1918 until the end of the war. UKRAINE In its peace negotiations with the Germans, the Soviet government agreed to withdraw from all non-Russian territories, including Ukraine. On 22 January 1918, a national assembly (rada) proclaimed a "free and sovereign" Ukrainian Republic. However, on 10 February, the Red Army attacked and captured Kiev. As a result, German forces advanced eastward and occupied the capital on 3 March and remained in control until the end of the war. ss Fae ‘ z we ats eg Fee o BBA aN 3 = (fp Aa maa 5 ees iS 2 i = = a ig Ss “ : & Ss oe S 2s a Ss. : = es es ee 8 ee Qe 6s oS 5. Sa : oe : fo | g2 i 26 se 48 os a S205 =o Kiev SE 5 Ss ¢ S Sa oS OR $ Neo eo’ : Mire More. 2 Ay Levey” 3 = ek Bike ¥2.£ SP. (Gadbftebende Spalten S o2UobtunGe, ee ee ee 5 (Strage und Sausnummer) F 36 (8.17) The German fieldpost accompanied the troops into Ukraine and set up military postal stations in key locations. The above examples show cachets of the Central Treasury of the German Ukraine Delegation and the Secret Military Police in Kiev. UKRAINE Kiev AY toes f Bre sonssmieene # Value declared insured letter for 3,000 marks sent from the German Headquarters in Kiev, Ukraine to German _ - Headquarters in Riga, Latvia. A most extraordinary usage between fieldpost offices (from FPO 886 to FPO 383). UKRAINE Kiev “nouroBAa KAPTOUKA A - Denis: iG ee 3 co i Sion The Reichspost did not undertake to handle civil correspondence in Ukraine. However, commercial mail franked with unoverprinted "Germania" stamps was allowed to be sent through the fieldpost channels, in some cases with the "K. D. Feldpost" cds and in others with just a unit cachet. Examples above have the single-line and two-line markings of the German HQ in Kiev, one on a Ukrainian postal card that could not be forwarded to Lithuania. UKRAINE Kiev Be hil Ar nak Alten Sitatel or Postcard and cover front from members of the German Delegation in Ukraine, which was responsible for liaison with the Ukrainian government. UKRAINE Kiev Deutsch-Osterreichisch-Ungarische - Wirtschattszentrale, ie ly : Coy 2 : aR 4 i 4 ee a Sy fp aa j Co one a, ! | J a OPABNEHIE Fepmanco-Aacrpo-Benrepca ! E Xosalictsennok Komuccin. \ fla de Tocnoamny - oh 8 ee te uy | VL | be ka | 2 2) pg Mapsy: iO XB ) ire te 7 oa a ‘oc ee re: oe \ : K eR Pe Oratuenie Ipaynevia Tepmancwo-vscrpo-Bexrepetot Xossiiorsenno# Koimccin 2 : 7s ge Orenh * WarepHauioHwanb" Commercial covers from Kiev with corner cards and/or cachet of the "German-Austro-Hungarian Economics Office,” one in German and the other in Cyrillic, the latter sent registered through the Ukrainian post to Odessa. Odessa UKRAINE pe we yh Mpatips “ yen aad, wu ’ ell 4 race Ae % ‘Sep “IN “yosed “vahssi H49q “H gm yenpsyesen jepueln afyrert Arey yin : pn ji a8 tte. ye leh ery yn va ae oe ayes ee f ~ uae | S she as ee To are Wy e- Ae rye ae BOAT jt MWS ryt ‘ eo pee vr fhe Utpdi¢t fiepaad’ bg BY, UY “poh PI? f gene a %, We é c Wr f Lpengnt za rey en gy wey Wr, ae certany aap) ay er Qala rae a fi b ey ity hha cas ty, Vay one se! Le deal of German activity during the occupation good hets were used from this city Odessa was the center of a a variety of unit cac ? port on the Black Sea or d. As a result As amaj perio UKRAINE Odessa M. SCHWARZKOPF—ODESSA. Deutsche Feldpost. Herren Pee KRUEGER & SOMME RF 2 Lo Chemische Erzeugnisse OQ = Gi wm td 4 ae ese eon aN Deutsch-Oesterreichisch-Ungarische Wirtschafts- Zentrale Oelkartel | SF fear horn ee Commercial covers from Odessa with cachets of the "Imperial German Government/in Odessa" and "German- _ Austro-Hungarian Economics Office/Oil Cartel." Charkow (Kharkov) Ekaterinoslav Vladimir Volynsk nes qT ee ECCI Ee 7 ne 7 Wladimir-Wolynsk, : as ae . k. L i teldpostkarte Ube: HEC seneLer’ ef, ehaya, hi Fhe ) (f° é : E J a ee cabs eanuniidneilic, ae / & e — | | Le a eS ae : Charkow. Universititskaja Gorka. Yuusepentercnaa Topxa. ~ ‘¢ Feldbuchhandiungen, Heeresgruppe Eichhorn. Cachets identifying use from the more minor cities in Ukraine, such as those shown above, are considered exceedingly elusive, requiring extensive searching. UKRAINE Berdichev ee aan gy o oe Poltava Ot 4. a fe : i fea oe 3 é as parte C4 ¢ Pe a fe rj tf so ‘ ae Feldpostkarte ' -MABPUKA VMNEPIANb—CHEWIANBHAA MO VSFOTOBREHIIO CYWIMAIBHbDIXb MAIUMHS: Aina OMA, BAPABI, PPOBVHbI, KAPTO®ENA, KYKYPY3bI, SEPHA, CBMANb M BPMIUXS NPOAVKTOBD, GF a OD Additional examples of mail from the interior of Ukraine. Postcard is identified by "Hospital Berdichev" in the dateline, while cover from Poltava has cachet of the German Headquarters in that city. Apparently, no postmark was available, so postage was cancelled with blue crayon. UKRAINE Crimea ) 4) 4 a e ay A 3 L0PPPa WAVY ony “~ POE AN Meet Yytowa — > Mehaan The occupation of the Crimea meant that the German Navy could assume full control of the Black Sea. Upper postcard from S.M.S. Goeben at Sevastopol is an example of sailor's mail. Other items show cachet of "German Naval Unit/Crimea" in two different colors. UKRAINE Sevastopol 7 O18.) # eC or es “eof : Feldpoftbrief a OTKPBITOE HHCh Lith: ff ahs Ga ieer* Ae oO Fs) a 8 S & o Bi a cx iJ Fe a5 BS, With its command of the Black Sea, Sevastopol became a center for German military activity in the Crimea. Examples above show three different cachets used in the city. UKRAINE Kertsch (Kerch) Boitfarte Mat das Kriegsminifferium | Abteilung fir Nachridtenmittel . cet £0, 0.10 Heeresjade. | At the opposite end of the Crimea from Sevastopol is the harbor of Kerch, which guards the entrance to the Sea of Azov. This port was also occupied, partly to insure that Russian naval vessels did not interfere with German activities in the area. Unit cachets identify "Kertsch" and read “Imperial German Harbor Office" and "Imperial German Headquarters.” GEORGIA Based on the Brest Litovsk Treaty, the Soviet government agreed to withdraw its forces from all non-Russian territories, including Transcaucasia. By 15 April 1918, Turkish forces with German advisors captured Batum, Georgia, and on 12 June German forces captured Tiflis, the capital, where they remained in control until the end of the war. — Poti ~N fos lene )-so [pan6eprd Be Croxronomsb. 17 Deutsche Feldpost e 555 See RENEE Ne 157 CL Mac Ri 4 A. oni vid oon gs Pt SbrricPee Dakca: eee 494 fh : ae feta 4IO0/ He ook G47 f ay ag iL / af The German fieldpost accompanied the troops into Transcaucasia where it set up military postal stations in Georgia. The above examples show mail of the "German Delegation in the Caucasus," sent through FPO 555 in Poti on the Black Sea coast. The lower example is reportedly the only registered cover known from this location. GEORGIA Fieldpost cover without postal markings but has a unit cachet inscribed "Imperial German HQ oe Poti" in German and ' Georgian. (This is the only recorded example of this marking). Briefstempel at upper right is lightly struck but refers to the "Harbor Unit of the Chief of the Transportation Detachment/Caucasus." BCEMIPUDHI HOUTOBBUE COI08'b. POCCTE. Mero UNION POSTALE UNIVERSELLE. RUSSTH: Ts OTKPbITOE MMCbMO. — CARTE POSTALE.. *"" Ha sroti croponb numerca roapKo agpecs. — Coté réservé exclusivement A adresse. Poti Batum Fieldpost card datelined Batum, on 16 July 1918. It was properly postmarked at the main German Military Mission P.O. located in Constantinople four days later, and then forwarded to the addressee in Berlin. Following the armistice between Russia and the Central Powers, Turkish forces with their German advisors cleared eastern Anatolia of Russian troops and advanced to Batum, the principal Georgian port on the Black Sea, on 15 April 1918. Unlike that from elsewhere in the former Russian Empire, mail from the soldiers in Batum was handled by the post office of the German Military Mission in Turkey. GEORGIA Tiflis - ETT \-HourdpAd Kaproga aC “ | poe : eae Additional examples of fieldpost cards datelined Tiflis and used from Georgia. Unit cachets read "Imperial German Delegation in Caucasus" and "Imperial German Headquarters of the Troops in Caucasus." Any identifiable mail from this theater is extremely scarce and sought after by specialists. GEORGIA Tiflis HOYTOBAN KAPTO Aku. O-80 lpanOeprs ab Croxronpms. 29 Tiflis. Pont Nicolas. Cover with cachet of the “German Delegation in the Caucasus, Financial Administration” and captured Russian postcard with marking of the “Imperial German Troop Headquarters in Georgia.” Below is a picture postcard of Tiflis sent by a member of the Bavarian Reserve Infantry Battalion. These were sent from Tiflis through the fieldpost system in mid-1918. THE THEASTER SERBIA World War I was triggered when the heir to the Austrian throne was assassinated in Sarajevo, Bosnia by a Serb terrorist on 28 June 1914. Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia a month later, but its first invasion was abortive as Russia invaded Galicia and forced the Austrians to divert troops to that front. However, once the Russian threat was countered, a second invasion of Serbia was undertaken with the support of German and Bulgarian forces. This was quickly successful and the capital, Belgrade, was captured on 6 October 1915. Belgrade Kaiserlich Deutsches Konsulat ee ee Firna Clemens Muller Gl om. bof. DEE Sore ok. Eel Grobenhainerstrafe 2/8. Picture postcard of Semendria (Smederevo), a town just across the Danube from Hungary, sent through FPO 180. Cover sent from the Imperial German Consulate in Belgrade via FPO 25. SERBIA Some military mail can be identified by unit cachets and/or location given in the dateline. The fieldpost cards shown above have generic (without specific locations) datelines reading "Macedonia" and "Balkan Army" which, based on the dates and FPO numbers, were in Serbia at the time they were written. Nish Prilep SERBIA pPaiuasjaqvo ny, 7 / f Bohnung —_. Strabe und Hausnummer) n & in Seldpo(tfarte (Antwort) ( “uagebntup noijyed|uimeddnig vi¢ 1990 aay, erg 71 ualore 19g “Colt reyunR 795317.2) NUaUoyoUTOL eequeleg, “146 79926 uoIliarG, Sdioyooulryy ou, qpabyueig, }. Cards shown above have specific locations included in the datelines, both from towns that were included in the area of southeast Serbia annexed by the Bulgarians. SERBIA Belgrade Kragujevac 4. y VO “| = f Vastiti Levelezélaparusitas, Budapest V., Kadar-u, Cachets from German units in Serbia are quite uncommon, even from Belgrade and especially from other towns. SERBIA Nish Uskub Verlag Bahnhof. t. Feldbuchhandelgeselischaft Berlin S.14.“ Gesetzl.gesch, Ut). Uy pain Ap lintel. ttl, Zi. Pow Pp Je? 9ck.. i Unt. Gro. livia. Bind Cts Cha fw Cohan Se pon Of: popes Jor Lives! Page Jur ew foo Ze , “~~ eT ee A ‘ For administrative purposes, occupied Serbia was divided roughly in half on a Northeast to Southwest diagonal line, with the Austrians having the western portion and the Bulgarians the eastern. Thus, the Germans were not directly involved in running the territory. This explains why German unit cachets from Serbia are so elusive. ROMANIA Induced by Allied promises of Hungarian territory, Romania declared war on the Central Powers on 27 August 1916. After brief successes in Transylvania, the Romanians are driven out by Austro-Hungarian and German troops, who then did a reverse invasion, capturing Bucharest, the capital of Romania, on 6 December 1916. In the meantime, their Bulgarian allies invaded the Dobrudja and occupied Constanta, the main Black Sea port. A cease fire was agreed on 6 December 1917, and Romania eventually signed the Treaty of Bucharest on 7 May 1918. Militérverwaltung i in Rumanien. — Wirtichaftsitab, . Finanz-Abteilung. 2. a. >. An. aA oe Sy eZ ; The German fieldpost accompanied the troops into Romania and set up military postal stations in key locations. Above examples show corner card and/or cachets of the "Military Government in Romania," one from the Economics Staff and one from the Electro-Technical Group. ROMANIA Dheranmant des Besatzungsheeres in Rumanien ; wa | MOB. ETAPPEN-KOMMANDANTUR 286, x KASSE sa WIRTSCHAPTSS BES 722 Aa) Examples of generic cachets (no locations specified) of various administrative organizations in the military government of Romania, including "Cashier's Office of the Economics Staff" and "Press Group." ROMANIA & ROMANIA _,RUMANIEN IN WO Bucharest sina [BUKARESTER TAGBLATT# und GAZETA BUCURESTILOR“ RT UND BILD“ und ,,SAPTAMANA ILUSTRATAS BUKAREST — Str. Sarindar 9— 11 ROMANIA Bucharest oickmar, Leipzig.) "Reihe 8 Nr. 45. bbe, idl, itp atier, na Shep mtr fh toes SB 650. Bukarest. Jagercadtahckompagnie aut dem a atz. popes es fot Gea. ee 26, 6.78. Sogn Ke hig? ou . Film- hae oe : _ Additional examples of cachets of various administrative organizations that were operating in Romania's capital. Calafat Calarasi ec et Oe. Colentina ROMANIA Focsani Craiova go TO * Xone | -& ' S | pee wih aan e Arish- btn hue ccocescoud eed Atl» a Lied : PFajogs1gs, Honapyowsl “EON -a3g-tugsed yy “Cha cf %; ye oy nanyspearay omy ws fa Ye PB Aing oF “koro tn 31vt93Uy Scat pia "OR. bE Cs *a5g & ee 4958 "CY SOWIE “PY wEtnepey op sys: oyen* ern OBSE i 0 ai wy Cf | ES: a canapeeeeeEEEEEEEEEEE SEG CIN a— | wosad [9899 Fy SuIpIod: “He BARSTTASED TooU: \omapieaptns uonea* : \ ; 4 : 4 \ ss N a ; | x bog * me I 4 * eS ie r x i x * x ae ‘ x Additional cachets of units based in outlying areas. ROMANIA Giurgiu Petresti A number of organizations were involved with the extraction and handling of Romanian oil. An example is the cachet from the Central Office for Oil Transportation in Giurgiu. ROMANIA _ Turnu Severin Vida Lud fg INE? va Af | ot Fe, I Viewe tC | Yeage: at BOF. ——* ES, & a) - ae x WZ a LA we. od Lae 7 c Cover from Turnu Severin on the Danube has cachet of the German Harbormaster. Cover from Vida is postmarked from the Austro-Hungarian FPO 442 although it has German franking, showing the close working relationship of the occupying powers. ROMANIA Dobrudja 7 & j f ? f y 4 4 wo A i / 3 / E L jy ‘ 4 f lA ° f j oy e y ) ey a r ies ° e. 4 2 be q 4 / cat / 2, b y ff P , *Y aD 2 wt i Se 4 4 4 °f Oe, y 4 Alo Az Zo ao ) ie t. Po f a . i / "9 ee Lo , {% Lo, : ae ) Lb 4 f, \ o ( 1D os me, ' ” = ae —s IN 4 v i 4s The Dobrudja was the area of Romania lying between the Danube and the Black Sea. Although it was occupied by the Bulgarians and officially ceded to Bulgaria under the terms of the Treaty of Bucharest, German troops ' were also stationed there, as attested to by the cachets on these covers. ROMANIA In addition to the generic "Dobrudja" cachets, some units specifically noted the name of the main city, Constanta, in their markings as per the examples above. Note the very elusive marking of the "Seaplane Station Constanta." ROMANIA Postage Stamps & Postal Stationery Overprints with only Romanian currency indicated, as printed by the Reichsdruckerei in Berlin. Not issued as such. Issued set with M.V.i.R. as added by the Romanian Printing Works in Bucharest. Postal card and stamps with first day cancellation. Postal card with attached reply shown below. : Pofttarte mit Antwortfarte fee shorwachanariells Postiberwacnnn Tae er tain ctnen eaten nani stint lamaie apatincat de eR MR NR NE NEES \ A civil postal service was established in occupied Romania on 24 February 1917. However, the first new postage stamps were not provided until 1 June 1917. There were three values of the standard Germania issue with boxed overprint reading "Military Administration in Romania,” as well as 10 bani postal and reply cards issued. ROMANIA Postage Stamps The German authorities decided that a war tax would be imposed on civil mail in addition to the normal postage. To indicate that such payment was made, new M.V.i.R. overprints were made on existing Romanian postal tax stamps in 5 and 10 bani denominations and issued on 25 June 1917. (Higher values exist but are fiscal stamps.) ROMANIA Postage Stamps pal fant a ceaay) SY moe ee | em fe f es EAS eSenses CASES CAS JESS eS g , 2 see ROMANIA CARTA POSTALAS OF a eo & I SAS == HAS es : A. (ena eam eaten |e g\ ey (ences ew! gives seme “Ko es eke » = A Petia tna M, Sie ace em / : t ‘ peccmtcynctii TAS 1 : E ee ifs _ (ROMANIA hoa : - hp Oete Tl Te eet] AE - EIT \ + NER ‘ A= 2a : “APAKADEPLATAN q Ae KA, sal Ne is gf _ D XAoePLaTA) | sg vax NOLL In addition to postage and postal tax stamps, the Germans overprinted Romanian postage due stamps with the initials "M.V.i.R." ROMANIA Postage Stamps & Postal Stationery : Pofttarte mit Antworttarte Carte postale avec réponse payée On 2 July 1917, a new set overprinted entirely at the Reichsdruckerei and with a different form of "M.V.i.R." was placed on sale, along with similarly overprinted postal cards. ROMANIA Postage Stamps & = tes Postal Stationery auht Cro a Ged. ay % Ank qetrren. Pofttarte mit Antworttarte Carte postale avec réponse payée After the armistice between Romania and the Central Powers, the latter proceeded to occupy the balance of the country. The authorities felt that a new set of overprints reading "Romania" would more appropriately reflect the new status. Thus, five stamps (with the 25 bani in two shades) plus the usual postal and reply cards were issued on 1 March 1918. ROMANIA Postage Stamps A fourth series of overprints was issued for the occupation zone of the German 9th Army in Northern Romania between the territory of the M.V.i.R. and the front lines. Four values of the Germania set were overprinted with "Valid/9th Army” and placed on sale on 10 March 1918. Interestingly, post offices were not operated in this area, but civil mail was collected at the fieldpost stations and forwarded to Bucharest for postmarking and censorship. (Lower cover shows example of a cover originating in Braila but cancelled at Bucharest.) ROMANIA Postal Stationery Dp Oftlarte mit Antworttarte Carte postale avec réponse payée Cate posta® ee réponse payée 1 Pl Postal cards were also issued for the occupation zone of the German 9th Army. In fact, the reply cards come with two different inscriptions at the top, i.e. "Postkarte mit Antwortkarte" and "Postkarte mit Antwort." THE THWESTERN FR ITALY The activity on the Italian front was basically an Austrian show, largely a defensive effort to hold the high ground in the Tirolian Alps while the bulk of the Austro-Hungarian army was trying to stave off the Russian invasion of Galicia. However, after the Russians were no longer a factor, the Austrians with some German reinforcements attacked the Italian positions and scored a major breakthrough at Caporetto on 24 October 1917. From that point until very late in the war, a substantial area in the Province of Venezia was occupied. coy Udine Deutsche Vertretung im besetzten Italien Feldbuchhandlung, Hauptstelle Deutsche Feldpost 546 2 fy Oe , ) 2 ee eee Z, Examples of fieldpost mail from German soldiers in Italy. The above have official cachets designated "Occupied Italy" or, in the case of one postcard, datelined in Udine, the one major Italian city held by the Central Powers. AFRICA EAST AFRICA PROTECTORATE The town of Taveta, located in the B.E.A. Protectorate (Kenya) just across the border from German East Africa (Tanzania), was captured by German forces soon after the outbreak of World War I. It attracted special interest as the only British territory to be occupied by Germany during the war. Taveta Postal card of the East Africa & Uganda Protectorates mailed as a souvenir of the occupation with a Taveta Feldpost cds. e Tue | se There was a high degree of philatelic and patriotic interest in obtaining examples of the special Feldpost cancellation shown above. It was in use from 1 October 1914 until 31 July 1915, when the Germans withdrew.