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Soviet field post

Article about: Hello! I could not find a relevant post here on the forum, so I made new one from scratch. Please, share your items in this thread if you wish!!! I have got these two Soviet field post cards

  1. #31
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    An interesting extension to my collection and excellent letter linked to the pilot Vsevolod RASPOPOV, who was shot down over Crimea and captured by Germans. See posts #6 and #7 of this thread.

    This is one is addressed to RASPOPOV's father, Yuri Alekseevich Raspopov, and written by a stranger woman.


    Greetings, Yuri Alekseevich.
    Your son Vsevolod RASPOPOV - the pilot who has been a prisoner of war in the town Simferopol for about 2 weeks. On the night of 13 March 1944, i.e. when Germans retreated, they were taken away in unknown direction. Their further fate is unknown?
    The previously captured pilots were kept and later transported to the West.
    They were captured at Syvash lakes. The engine broke, they tried to escape but were captured.
    I was working in the unit where the pilots were held. I supplied them with our newspapers and some other items. All these 4 pilots asked me to inform their families about them.
    I am SHUSHAKOVA Vera Tikhonovna. My address is town Simferopol, Zhelyabova street 15.
    Please, let me know if you received this message. My duty is to inform you and fulfil their wish.

    The house at the address Simferopol, Zhelyabova street 15.
    Soviet field postSoviet field post

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  3. #32

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    Quote by Egorka View Post
    Please meet technic-intendant 2 class ROSS ALEKSANDER IVANOVICH, born 1904 in town Nikolaev (Ukraine).
    The veteran wrote this letter on 08 June 1944 to his wife, who resided in Kiev at the time. If you read the letter you will see the intrigue.


    town Stalino, 08/VI/1944
    Greetings my dear Shurochka (wife's name), my dear mother and my lovely daughter Annushka. I am alive and well.
    I didn't write you because I was on the state clearance, first in the village Mandrikino, then in village Gorlovka. Now I have passed the state clearance and assigned to the ranks of RKKA. Soon I am leaving for the front.

    Dear Shurochka! Our 3 year long suffering and turmoil are soon to end. Not more, than in a couple of months, if I survive (I am not in doubt I will) our lives will turn to the better - I will send you my soldiers provisions attest and the life will be as it used to.

    I sent a teletype letter to Mrs.Chernogor today. I need your address. Expect my next letter either from the front or from transit.
    Write me where is Misha and Vanya? How are you living and where? Pass my loving fatherly kiss to my precious son Misha.
    Good bye. Kisses to all of you. Greetings to all the friends and neighbors.
    Donbass, town Stalino.
    My address: fieldpost 44482 Ж.
    Aleksander (please, don't write me)


    The letter was written right after ROSS successfully passed through the filtration camp, because he was living on the German occupied territory from August 1941 until December 1943. He was in service since February 1936. In June 1941 he was the head of supply train of the 19 Howitzer Artillery Regiment, which was located close to the state border when Germany attacked. His unit quickly found itself to be behind the front line.
    As many others in such situation he was declared MIA:

    But ROSS survived. It also appears to me, he evaded being captured by Germans (i.e. he was not a POW), but managed to get shelter somewhere and live his live through 1941-1942-1943. I don't know exactly how. Maybe he managed to get to his home town Nikolaev or he just settled somewhere quiet in the countryside (another common survival scenario during that period).

    So by June 1944 he was cleared, i.e. no fact of collaboration with Germans were found on him. Despite the fact, that formally all these cleared men (and there were many of them) were not found guilty of any crimes, they had to take a 2 months shift in an Assault units - detached assault battalion&company. 2 months or until wounded. Or killed. So ROSS was on his way to 13 detached assault battalion, where he arrived on 12 July 1944.
    The 13 detached assault battalion existed from 20.06 till 01.10.1944. It was moved a lot between the rifle units, and it seems after 04.07.1944 it was assigned to 416 rifle division (32 rifle corps, 5 shock army, Southern front).

    The further fate of the veteran is not 100% clear to me. I don't see any direct and specific KIA report. But his award record is not in the archive and nothing else positive can be found either... So I am fearing the worst...

    But this is not the end. It gets even worse...
    It appears , that ROSS' son Misha - Mikhail Aleksandrovich ROSS, born 1925 in town Nikolaev, was KIA on 14 January 1945. He served from Summer 1944 first as a rifleman in 358 rifle regiment, 136 rifle division. Awarded Bravery medal in October 1944.
    By January 1945 he was a MG section leader.
    As soon as Im waiting for my first field post card to come I'll add something to this thread. We don't much about Alexander Ross fate but I think I could do something to trace the last days of his son's-Mikhail Ross, what I think would be interesting research.
    Mikhail was killed on the first day of Vistula-Oder offensive while attacking from Pułtusk-Serock bridgehead 47th army met defense of German 542 infantry division. I was able to locate probable place of his death and initial burial.

    According to 136th rifle div. after battle reports Ross's 358 rifle regiment attacked from positions on eastern outskirts of village Stanisławowo in north-west direction meeting fierce defense in a orchard on northern Edge of Stanisławowo. Under shelling of 2 German artillery batteries located in Nuna and Kukarzewo area by 13.00 14.1.1945 reacheda road from Kania Góra to Popowo Borowe, just south from hill 109,2. And then came under heavy machine gun fire from houses just south from hill 109,2 about 1,5km east from Nuna.

    And that's when probably Mikhail Ross fell, as Soviet document described initial burial place as "1,5km north-east Nuna"-that's right in the area of these houses, most probably was killed while directing his MG squad fire at these houses. Let me take you to this place almost 75 years later.
    Click to enlarge the picture Click to enlarge the picture Soviet field post   Soviet field post  

    Last edited by Marinecollector42; 12-21-2018 at 08:54 PM.

  4. #33

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    One of these farm used by Germans as provisional fortifications-now abandoned for a long time. What happend to Mikhail Ross is that probably was reburied to Soviet military cementry near Pułtusk.
    Best Regards
    Jacob
    Click to enlarge the picture Click to enlarge the picture Soviet field post   Soviet field post  


  5. #34
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    Jacob! That is excellent! Thank you very much for this valuable insight and fieldwork!

  6. #35

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    Hello

    Amazing search and nice piece of history

    Thanks for sharing

    Bruno

  7. #36
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    A new exciting item is on the way.
    This is an innocent looking letter. One of many, right? Not quite!
    Soviet field post

    First of all, not often one sees a man whose first name is Achilles (Ахилл) like the Greek hero, right?
    OK, this alone makes my mental alarm beep. But there is more. Much more.
    Apparently, STALIN made an example of this man and named the guy specifically in one of his decrees in October 1941.
    But firs the letter, which was written on 01 April 1944 to the wife.
    The author is Commissar BANKWITZER Achilles L'vovich (1892-1970).
    "Dear Allya,
    It is all the same here. I am very worried due to lack of news from you, even though I know for a fact, that it takes 13 days for a letter to arrive from Moscow. So, it takes 26 days to get an answer on my letter. Write me every day at field post 83244 (not field post station - apparently these are not the same).
    Are there any new about Igorek? It is unbearable to think, he is not alive anymore... I probably will get mad of these thoughts.
    Allya! I beg you, don't spare my possessions, but sell them to improve your situation. Don't you understand, that your well being is more important to me, than my clothes, books and so on? Write me very detailed about the course of your illness. Any seizures? How often? But don't hide anything. Write how it is! Please, pay for the telephone bill for the next 3 months.
    We still have snow, rain, and mud up to knees. On one hand, it's good, because the running Germans abandon their equipment. But walking on this damn swamp is terrible.
    I sincerely, regret KOFTAKOV is free of this troubles. If you only knew, how much I despise all those bastards sitting comfortably in the rear area. All those SMIRNOVs and BALEZINs and others like them! And how they talk patronisingly to us (top-down), when we visit them in the rear area. And how much the old machine-gunner ZELINSKY is bigger, than all of those! He is a real Russian patriot! And those are the patriots of their own bellies.
    Well, take care of your self, my dear! Write me!
    Achilles."

    Igorek, mentioned in the letter, is the veteran's son Igor - a partisan, who was KIA in December 1942 near Leningrad.

    Soviet field post

    And now is the most interesting bit. On 04 October 1941, the defence commissar comrade STALIN, issued the decree №0391: "On the facts of replacing pedagogical work with repressions".
    Here is Google translation it. You will find BANKWITZER's name in the decrees body.
    ---
    "DECREE OF THE PEOPLE'S COMMISSAR OF DEFENCE OF THE USSR No. 0391.
    04 October 1941

    On the facts of replacing pedagogical work with repressions.
    Recently, there have been frequent cases of unlawful repression and gross abuse of power by individual commanders and commissars in relation to their subordinates.
    The lieutenant of the 288 joint venture Komissarov without any reason shot the Red Army soldier Kubica with a shot from a gun.
    - Former chief of 21 SD Colonel Suschenko SUSCHENKO shot Jr. Sgt. PERSHIKOV because he slowly got off his car due to an illness in his hand.
    - The platoon commander of the motorized rifle company of the 1026th Infantry Regiment, Lieutenant MIKRYUKOV, shot dead his assistant, the junior platoon commander Ba-Burin, allegedly for not following the order.
    - The military commissar of the 28th Panzer Division, regimental commissar BANKWITZER, beat one sergeant for lighting a cigarette at night; he beat Major Zanoznogo for an impolite conversation with him.
    - The chief of staff of the 529th Infantry Regiment, Captain SAKUR, without any justification, hit twice with a pistol of Art. Lieutenant Sergeev.

    Such intolerable facts in the Red Army about the distortion of disciplinary practice, the excess of the granted rights and authorities, lynching and hand-application are explained by the fact that:
    a) the method of persuasion was incorrectly pushed into the background, and the method of repression against subordinates took first place;
    b) in some cases, everyday educational work in units is replaced by abuse, repression, and assault;
    c) the method of clarification and conversation of commanders, commissars, political workers with the Red Army is abandoned and the explanation of questions incomprehensible to the Red Army is often replaced by a cry, abuse and rudeness;
    d) individual commanders and political workers are lost in difficult battle conditions, panic and cover their own confusion with the use of weapons without any reason;
    e) the truth is forgotten that the use of repression is an extreme measure, admissible only in cases of direct disobedience and open resistance in a combat situation or in cases of malicious violation of discipline and order by persons who deliberately go to the detachment of orders of the command.

    Commanders, commissars, and political workers are obliged to remember that without the right combination of persuasion and coercion, it is inconceivable to impose Soviet military discipline and strengthen the political and moral state of troops.
    Severe punishment in relation to malicious violators of military discipline, accomplices of the enemy and obvious enemies should be combined with an attentive analysis of all cases of violation of discipline, requiring a detailed clarification of the circumstances of the case.

    Unreasonable repression, illegal executions, arbitrariness and assault by commanders and commissars are a manifestation of lack of will and armlessness, often lead to the opposite results, contribute to the fall of military discipline and the political and moral state of troops and can push unstable fighters to dash to the side of the enemy.

    I here by order:
    1. Restore educational work in the rights, make wide use of the method of persuasion, and not replace the everyday explanatory work with administration and repression.
    2. All commanders, political workers and commanders have daily conversations with the Red Army men, explaining to them the need for iron military discipline, honest performance of their military duty, military oath and orders of the commander and chief. In conversations, it should also be clarified that a serious threat loomed over our Homeland, that the greatest self-sacrifice, unwavering stamina in battle, contempt for death and merciless struggle with cowards, deserters, wreckers, provocateurs and traitors to the homeland are needed to defeat the enemy.
    3. To explain widely to the commanding staff that lynching, assault and arenas, humiliating the rank of warrior of the Red Army, lead not to strengthening, but to undermining discipline and authority of the commander and political worker.
    4. In the most decisive way, right up to bringing the guilty tribunal to trial, to combat all phenomena of unlawful repression, assault, and lynching.
    An order to declare to the entire commanding staff of the field army up to and including the commander and commissar of the regiment.

    People's Commissar of Defense I. Stalin
    Chief of General Staff B. Shaposhnikov
    "

    The book written by BANKWITZER about his war years: "The men of our division".
    Soviet field post
    Last edited by Egorka; 09-22-2019 at 10:11 AM.

  8. #37

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    Great research again. And so nice to get so much out of a what seems to be a simple fieldpost letter. History comes back alive again through these!

  9. #38

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    Results of your research are trully outstanding! Thanks for sharing and congratulations! I think you should get his service records, on one of his citations it was said he get ORB for Finnish Winter War.

  10. #39
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    Quote by Egorka View Post
    A new exciting item is on the way.
    This is an innocent looking letter. One of many, right? Not quite!
    Soviet field post
    Very interesting! I’d like to add, that the address of the recipient (his wife Elena (Ляля)) is Granovskogo street, #3 and it’s not just a house in Moscow. It was one of the most prestigious houses in the Soviet capital. Many high ranked members of the Soviet government and Red Army commanders lived there. For example N. Khrushchev, V. Molotov and some marshals: Budyonny, Voroshilov, Konev, Zhukov, Rokossovsky, Chuikov etc. So, Bankwitzer was a high ranked commissar as well. Actually, the jewmil.com tells, that his real name was Jehil (Ехиль).

  11. #40
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    Quote by McSeam View Post
    Very interesting! I’d like to add, that the address of the recipient (his wife Elena (Ляля)) is Granovskogo street, #3 and it’s not just a house in Moscow. It was one of the most prestigious houses in the Soviet capital. Many high ranked members of the Soviet government and Red Army commanders lived there. For example N. Khrushchev, V. Molotov and some marshals: Budyonny, Voroshilov, Konev, Zhukov, Rokossovsky, Chuikov etc. So, Bankwitzer was a high ranked commissar as well. Actually, the jewmil.com tells, that his real name was Jehil (Ехиль).
    Cool! I actually forgot to check the address. This is the house in our days with the facede fully covered with the memorial plaques.
    BTW, I started reading BANKWITZER's book. It is surprisingly good, considering the period it was written and printed. The content is not filled with the propaganda cliches (they are still there, but one can never be completely free of his times political cliches either).

    Soviet field postSoviet field post

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