There were two situations (Stalingrad & Kuban) during WWII when Romanian troops on the eastern front were encircled an therefore obliged to use airmail services to send mail to and from Romania. This led to the use of German airmail stamps (Luftfeldpostmarke Michel No.1) on Romanian fieldpost mail.
A. THE STALINGRAD ENCIRCLEMENT (Nov.1942- Ian / Feb. 1943)
1. Historical overview
The Soviet offensive took place on November 19, 1942 in the 3rd Romanian Army area (namely the 13th and 14th Infantry Division sector). On November 20th the offensive also began against the 4th Romanian Army. On November 22nd the Soviet armies reached the junction at Kalatch. Thus, the 6th German Army (von Paulus) together with German 4th Army Corps (from the 4th Panzer Army) and two Romanian Divisions (1st Cavalry and 20th Infantry) were encircled. The German Divisions’ position in the encirclement can be seen in Fig. 1. The encircled German – Romanian forces capitulated in two stages: partially on January 31, 1943 (the Southern Units) and totally on February 2, 1943 (the Northern Units). From the initial count of 250,000 men 30,000 were evacuated from the encirclement, 96,000 went into Russian POW camps with only 6000 returning home to Germany. The Romanians were about 12 – 15,000 in number but data relating to their survival ratio is not available.
Here are details of the Romanian Great Units:
a. 20th Infantry Division with Infantry Regiments 82, 83, and 91, Artillery Regiments 31, and 40. The other reporting units took the divisional number of “20.”: The 20th Transmissions, Pioneer, Police, Reconnaissance, Anti-Aircraft, Anti-Tank, Sanitary, and Ambulance Companies etc.
Beginning on November 22, 1942 the Divisional HQ were in the Basargino railway station (with the 82nd Infantry Regiment reporting to the German 297th Infantry Division and the 83rd and 91st Infantry Regiments to the German 71st and 297th Infantry Divisions in the North of Zibenko). On November 23rd all the regiments were withdrawn and replaced by German Units. On November 26th the Division’s Units were divided into small units which were integrated into the German Divisions of the 4th Army Corps and directly under the command of German officers. Just before January 13, 1943 the Divisional HQ moved close to PITOMNIK. During the entire encirclement period the Units of the 20th Infantry Division were commanded bv the German 4th Army Corp.
b. 1st Cavalry Division with Roshiors Regiments 1, 2, 12, and the 1st Mounted Artillery Regiment. All the other sub-units similar to the 20th Infantry Division were given the number “41.” (i.e. the 41st Pioneer and Anti-Aircraft Squadrons, etc.). The Division had about 4500 men in it at the time of the siege. On November 22, 1942 the division reported to the German 8th Army Corp. On November 24th it is located at Dimitrievka in the German 376th Infantry Division sector. Between December 2 and 10, 1942 the division is divided up and new sub-units raised. (11 combat sub-units and 18 working detachments and transportation columns) and integrated into 15 German divisions (from General Hube’s Group and the 51st Army Corp.). The Mounted Artillery Regiment was also disbanded with the horses given to the 376th Infantry Division and the guns destroyed. The Divisional HQ and rest of the troops (including the wounded and sick) remained at GONCEARA,
c. Colonel Voicu’s Group (Detachment) was a ‘provisional’ unit made up of the remains of different units. It had about 1700 men and was also divided up amongst the German Units of Hube’s Group and the 51st Army Corps. The Group’s artillery was from a 100 mm Division (from the Armored Division) and a Division of the 4th Heavy Artillery Regiment.
It is important to note that all the Romanian Units lost their autonomy being divided into subunits and being integrated into the German Divisions.
2. The Postal Service during the Encirclement
The postal service mail relied entirely on transport planes to move the mail. Due to the restricted available space one could only send letters, postcards, and newspapers. The first decisions were taken by the Germans on November 27, 1942 after discontinuing the evacuation of the wounded. It was considered necessary to organize the dispatch of mail through the German Corps FpA (Fieldpost Units) 451 (of the 51st Army corps) from the PITOMNIK airport. Beginning on December 5th 1942 an Army Exchanging Bureau (“Armee FpUSt”) was established. The distribution of airmail fieldpost stamps to the troops was hurried. MOROZOWSKA in the Ukraine was designated the external airport for the postal air link to the east. On December 2nd a small quantity of mail left the encircled troops for the first time. On December 3rd a supplementary distribution of 4 extra air mail stamps for each soldier was decided upon. Finally, on December 6th the Army FpUSt was ready for duty (this bureau was located at the 8th Army Corps FpA 408). Thus December 6th is the official day of the beginning of the 6th Army’s postal service during the encirclement of Stalingrad.
There were 24 German FpAs in the encirclement for the 20 Divisions and 4 army corps. The transport of the mail from the Divisional FpAs to the Corps FpA 408 was made by trucks. The further transportation from the Army FpUSt to the PITOMNIK airport was made using the FpA 408 facilities. All other transportation modalities were forbidden. This postal service functioned very well until Christmas 1942 with regular flights between PITOMNIK and MOROZOWSKAIA. However towards the end of 1942 the MOROZOWSKAIA airport was occupied by the Soviets. Thus, new airports in ZIMLIANSKAIA and ROSTOW were established for the airmail link to the east but these were farther away and thus restricted the transportation possibilities. On January 14, 1943 the PITOMNIK airport was abandoned (to be occupied by the Soviet forces on January 16th) The new airport within the encirclement started on January 15th 5 km S.E. of Gumrak. However, landings could only be made during the day.
3. Romanian Soldier’s Mail from the encirclement is very rare and only a few items have become available for study.
A published letter from a high officer of the 1st Cavalry Division wrote the following on Deceitber 18th 1942:
“…with these airplanes [which are not available to us at this time to allow communication with the outside] one could establish a postal link for the Romanians; the Germans here have been sending and receiving mail for about 10 days.”
This corresponds approximately with the date of December 6th mentioned earlier. This officers comments means that the soldiers of the 1st Cavalry Division did not have mail links with the outside as of December 18th. This Division would have used OPM (Oficiul Poştal Militar) 180. But no mail sent from the encirclement from OPM 180 is as yet known: the explanation is that, as OPM 180 was located in the 2nd Divisional Echelon, it was not captured and continued its activity out of the encirclement. That’s why, the pieces of mail sent from former 1st Cavalry Division soldiers (that were subsequently integrated into the German units) came all through the German Fieldpost.
The only Romanian postal items from the Stalingrad encirclement that are known to date were mailed from OPM 135 (of the 20th Infantry Division).
A similar item was offered in Lot 127 of the 6937th Special Stamp Auction at Dorotheum in Vienna (Austria) on October 22, 1993. This lot can be described as follows: written on a German field-postcard, bearing the same airmail stamp, canceled by OPM 135 on December 13 1942 and having the same censor marking used by the 20th Inf. Div. HQs (“Censurat / Comandamentul M.U.”). The sender was a former member of the 22nd Infantry Regiment (from the destroyed 13th Inf. Div.) which was then allocated to the 20th Divisional HQs. As this item was sent directly from the 20th Inf. Div. HQs it does not bear cancels of the German fieldpost (as do items from the former subordinated units.
It is not known how many airmail stamps were distributed to each Romanian soldier. One presumes that it was four, similar to that issued to German soldiers.
Top ↑Bibliography
1. G. Oberleitner – Geschichte der Deutschen Feldpost 1937 – 1945 / History of the German Fieldpost /, page 142 – 146, Innsbruck 1993, Austria.
2. A. Pandrea, I. Pavelescu, E. Ardelean – Românii la Stalingrad / The Romanians at Stalingrad/, page 416 – 423, 1992 Editura Militară Bucharest, Romania.
3. G. ral Maior [r] Virgil Dobrin – Acum 50 ani pe căile Stalingradului / 50 years ago on the Stalingrad paths/, Revista de Istorie Militară No.5 & 6 /1994, Bucharest.
B. THE KUBAN BRIDGEHEAD (February – September 1943)
1. Historical
After the defeat at Stalingrad the Germans in the Caucasus (1st Panzer and 17th Armies) were pushed back continuously by the Soviets. The 1st Panzer Army squeezed through to Rostow to the West, but the 17th Army withdrew to the Kuban Bridgehead area (this was an area east of the Crimea between the Kuban river and the Caucasus mountains and included the Taman Peninsula — Hitler wished to hold the Kuban Bridgehead as a springboard for future offensives) [Fig. 4]. The bridgehead was established between February and April of 1943 and lasted unchanged until September of that year. The fronts length was about 120 km with a maximum width of 150 km. Here there were initially 400,000 men (Feb. 8, 1943: 115.000 German soldiers, 80.000 Romanian soldiers, 30,000 Russian POWs and 173,000 service support personnel in the rear in sedentary units). The bridgehead was separated from the Crimeea by the 5 – 10 km wide Kerch Strait. The sea was frozen until February 7, 1943 making sailing across the straits possible only after this date.
Together with the German 17th Army , the Romanian Cavalry Corps (with the 10th and 19th Infantry Divisions, 6th and 9th Cavalry Divisions and the 3rd Mountain Division) also entered the Kuban bridgehead area. These Romanian Divisions were evacuated from the Taman Peninsula to the Crimea between August and October 1943.
2. The Postal Service
This was organized over two periods:
a. The necessity (provisional) Postal Service (January – March 1943).
During the 17th Army’s withdrawal to the Caucasus the postal services practically ceased from the middle of January to the beginning of March 1943. This was because the FpAs were also withdrawing and were not functional or able to be contacted. The postal links for the 17th Army back home to the west had to be changed. It was no longer possible to use Rostow, and mail had to be sent across the Kerch Strait to the Crimeea. Consequently, a reorganization of the postal services was needed. Beginning on January 24, 1943 only direct airmail links were possible from the front to either Germany or Romania. However, from February 9, 1943 an exchange postal bureau (“LFpUSt”) for airmail was established at BERGEROWO airport in the Crimea for the 17th Army mail. This airport was also used for links from home to the troops in the Caucasus. The airmail Links to Bergerowo were made using shuttle flights, and even after it became possible to navigate across the Kerch Strait on February 7th, the air link was maintained as the sole method for sending and receiving mail. The situation regarding the postal links as of February 28, 1943 can be seen in Fig. 5.
b. The definitive 17th Army Postal Service (from March 3, 1943).
On March 3rd the new postal service of the 17th Army was established. The Army FpA was situated at the 17th Army Headquarters in STAROTITAROWSKAIA. At approximately the same time all the Division FpAs reached their HQs. The aerial links were still operating between Anapa and Warenikowskaia airports in the Taman peninsula to Bergerowo airport (Kerch). However, in this period the mail was also forwarded by sea by ferries operating between Kerch and the Taman, Senaia, or Anapa harbors. The airmail link was discontinued towards the end of March 1943 so from the beginning of April all the mail was sent by sea.
3. Mail from the Romania Units in the Kuban
The following gives the Military Post Offices (OPMs) being used by the various Romanian Divisions operating in the Kuban as of February 1943:
OPM 104: the Cavalry Corps;
OPM 176: 10th Infantry Division with: 23rd, 33rd and 38th Infantry Regiments; 3rd and 20th Artillery Regiments and other subunits using the number ‘10’;
OPM 40: 19th Infantry Division with: 94th, 95th and 96th Infantry Regiment; 37th and 42nd Artillery Regiments and other sub-units with the number ‘19’;
OPM 35: 6th Cavalry Division with: 9th and 10th Rosiori Regiments; 5th Călărasi Regiment; 8th Heavy Artillery Regiment and other sub-units with the number ’43’;
OPM 116: 9th Cavalry Division with: 3rd Rosiori Regiment; 9th and 13th Călărasi Regiments; 6th Mounted Artillery Regiment and other sub-units with the number ‘46’;
OPM 62: 3rd Mounted Division with: 5th, 6th, 11th, 12th, 21st and 22nd Mountain Hunters Battalions; 3rd Mountain Howitzer Division; 1st Mountain Guns Division and other sub-units using the number ’39’;
Here are some interesting details on the fieldpost service at this time selected from primary archival family sources.
I. From the correspondence of Captain Ionescu Ion of the 1st Mountain Guns Division (3rd Mountain Division).
February 1 1943 “.. .I have not written to you for a long time as the post goes very slowly or does not go at all. I now hear that each of us will now receive a stamp for airmail. I write only a little in order that I can mail this today [….] the postman leaves now and I do not want my letter to miss the plane – they told us that an airplane will take mail home [to Romania].” The cover of this letter is canceled at OPM 62 on February 2, 1943 (Fig. 6).
February 7. 1943 “I don’t want to write more frequently as I hear that the post does not leave regularly from here. From your end the last letter that I received dated December 19, 1942 was received by me in the first few days of this year. I only write now because I have received a single stamp which allows me to send a letter by airmail.” This cover was canceled at OPM 62 on February 10, 1943 (see illustration of this in RPHB 18, page 16).
February 11, 1943 “[the letter] will be taken by plane. I send 2 stamps to you which also gives you the right to send letters by airmail. On every one of the envelopes to me you should stick one of these stamps, and above write, ‘To the front by airplane.’ I cannot write to all the relatives as I do not have enough stamps.”
II. From the front diary of Sergeant Popa Iosif of the 3rd Mountain Howitzer Division (always the 3rd Mountain Division).
February 6.1943 “I got the stamps for the letters, one for me and one for Klein.”
February 7. 1943 “I wrote home a sealed envelope with a German aviation stamp on it, which I received for the airmail.”
In this diary we can also find that letters franked with airmail stamps were received from Romania right up until the middle of March. By examining the diary and all the material seen to date one can say that the Romanian Units sent mail franked by German airmail fieldpost stamps from February 1st until March 1st 1943. This was strictly during the first provisional period while the airlinks from the Kuban bridgehead area to the west were made. One can speculate that after the Romanian postal service had started on March 3, 1943 the Romanian mail no longer benefited from being sent by airmail, and all was sent by “sea”.
As we can see on the map (Fig. 5) in February 1943 the divisional mail from OPM 35, 40, 62, 104, 116 and 176 was transported by trucks to FpUSt 794 in Warenikowskaia. From here the mail was sent by secondary airmail routes directly to LFpUSt in Bergerowo (Crimea) and from here on regular airmail routes to Zaporojetz and then on further to Romania.
In the second period from March 1943 this arrangement was modified. Only OPMs 40, 62, l 04, and 116 sent their mail to FpUst 794 in Warenikowskaia. and then from here by railway to FpUSt 550 in Starotitarowskaia, and then by trucks to FpUst 760 in Wishestebljewskaia and then to Senaja and then to Kerch by sea. The mail from OPMs 35 and 176 was transported to FpUst 125 at Anapa and from here by sea to Kerch.
Data about the volume of mail transported during February are not known but the following gives some information about the volumes of mail being transported later when there were essentially no problems with the 17th Army’s Postal Service.
Between March 5 – 30, 1943:
72,58 tons of mail from Germany to the Kuban
19,29 tons left the Kuban for Germany;
Between May 1 – 15,1943:
154 bags (1 bag = 60kg) were sent from Romania to the Kuban bridgehead area
24 bags from were sent from the Kuban to Romania;
Between May 1-31,1943:
Mail for the whole of the 17th Army was 32.000 bags from Germany to the Kuban.
Consequently, the amount of Romanian mail during the early period bearing the German fieldpost stamps must have been very small. The author has only seen such stamps on mail from OPM 40 and 62. Theoretically, they must exist for all the other OPMs. We also know that letters were sent with German stamps on them from Romania to the Kuban front through to about mid March (later than from the Kuban to Romania due to the length of time it took to inform families at home). However, to date these items have not been seen. All material of this kind is very interesting, and the author would appreciate anyone who has examples reporting them to him.
Abbreviations
FpA Feldpostamt = German Fieldpost Offices;
FpUSt Feldpost Umschlag-Stelle = German Fieldpost Exchanging/Transit/Bureau
LFpUSt Luft-Feldpost Umschlag-Stelle = German Airmail Fieldpost Exchanging Bureau
OPM Oficiu Postal Militar = Romanian Fieldpost Office;
Bibliography
1.Deutsche Feldpost 1939- 1945 A.G. Rundbrief No. 44, May 1988, pages 1698-1708.
2.Meschenmoser A. – Die Wahrheit über die Kuban-Päckchenzulassungsmarke. (The Truth about Kuban Parcel Stamps) Sammler-Dienst No 1, 2 and 3 1986.
3.Axworthy M, Scafes C, Crăciunoiu C – Third Axis fourth Ally, Arms and Armour, 1995 London, England. Pages 123 – 128.
Author: Grecu Dan-Simion
