What is a field mail? Field mail of the Second World War and modern

Field mail has always played a key role among all its other species that have ever existed on the territory of Russia. She then took a leading position, then disappeared for a fairly long time. But as soon as military encounters were unleashed somewhere and active military actions began, it immediately came to the fore again.

Under field mail, it is customary to understand a special service that provides courier and postal communication of troops. This name it has in peacetime, and in the military it becomes a military field.

Why does not this mail use the usual address writing system

In order for the mail delivery to take place without interruption, each military unit has its own field mail number, to which letters are sent. Until 1942, the numbering of the mailboxes of military units was imperfect, and in the event of an enemy intercepting mail near the location of troops, it could reveal not only the actual numbers of military units, but even the location of their deployment. But after the Order of the NKR SSR No. 0669 was signed on 5.10.1942, in which they set forth detailed instructions on sending mail to the Red Army, all the shortcomings were corrected. Since that time, if you do not know the number of the military unit, its name, army type and location, the search for the field mail number will not give any exact information. Such data is considered a secret (military secret) and is not subject to disclosure, not only when military operations are in progress, but even in peacetime.

History of the occurrence of the field mail

The year 1695 is considered to be the date of the foundation of the field mail. The founder of it was the last tsar of all Russia and the first Russian emperor Peter I. This happened during the famous Azov campaigns. Regular Russian field mail existed throughout the campaign (April 1695 - August 1696) in two directions of troop movements: along the Volga and on the Don. The mail worked fast enough. So, the letters sent from Moscow reached the right addressee in the Azov area about the 15th day.

The name "field post" appeared only in May 1712, and was finally consolidated due to the Military Statute of Peter I only in 1716. At the beginning of the 18th century (during the Northern War), so-called "hasty" lines were laid to support the communication between the capital and the front Communication ". "Mail in the shelves" was used temporarily, and it was originally serviced by dragoons, which were later replaced by ordinary coachmen.

The next flourishing of the field mail came in 1812, when it was used to provide communication between different parts of the army. She also worked with St. Petersburg, Moscow and the rear. Coda Napoleon began active promotion to Moscow, many new postal routes were organized (almost at each station there were from 30 to 50 horses, which were supplied by the population). After the Napoleonic troops were defeated and pushed to the border, the field post moved next to and was practically in Paris.

The role of field mail in the Civil War

In the Soviet era, field mail was given great importance, especially when the country was rattled by civil war. It was then that the order was signed (No. 233 of February 29, 1920), in which it was said that in no case can one detain mail cars on the railway. In order for them to be in constant movement, the commandants of absolutely all railway stations had to attach them to any train components. At that moment, the mail cars were equal in importance to the wagons with military cargoes. In addition, this order indicated that the delivery of mail for the Red Army has not only an unquestionable important military significance, but also a moral and political one.

Field mail and the Great Patriotic War

During the war, communication between military units, ships, various military educational institutions, enterprises, as well as with the population carried out military field mail. In this most tragic stage in the history of our country, the heroes were not only soldiers, but also postmen who delivered correspondence to the active military units, risking their own lives. They also had to take weapons and protect their valuable cargo, because if the correspondence fell into the hands of the enemy, our army could suffer huge losses.

It should be noted that the WWII field mail delivered about 70 million letters and 30 million newspapers to the Red Army per month. The greatest volume of correspondence was between the front-line soldiers and their relatives who were in the rear.

At the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, the Office of Military Field Post was created (on the basis of the Main Communications Directorate of the Red Army). Also, special departments were created at the fronts and in all army headquarters, and postal field stations in the units.

Features of sending mail to the advanced

Letters continued to be delivered even during the siege of Leningrad and the precipitation of Sevastopol. Field mail did not stop its work, despite the famine, cold and constant gunfire. Correspondence was brought in sledges, carts and even simply carried in their hands.

During the endless bombardment of the capital, employees of military postal institutions had to work in the most severe conditions. Sorted and sorted the received correspondence not only in dugouts and huts, but even just on the ground or glade in the forest. Very often it was necessary to deliver letters to the addressees, making their way crawl under the machine-gun burst, passing through the minefields. The main purpose was to deliver letters from relatives to soldiers in trenches, and documents to commanders in dugouts. It was news from his native home that gave the fighters the strength to continue defending their Motherland.

Letter-triangle - news from the front

Mail delivery was carried out both to the front and from the front to the rear. When the postmen got under the Katyusha volleys to the right military unit, they took letters from there in the form of a triangle. These were news to relatives from the front who said that their sons and husbands were still alive.

In the Soviet Union, front-line letters were sent free of charge. They were folded in the form of a triangle specially (with this method it was absolutely not necessary to use envelopes, which were quite difficult to get on the front line).

Such letters were composed quite simply: they took a rectangular sheet (they were often torn from the most ordinary notebook), bent first from right to left, and then vice versa - from left to right. At the same time, there was a small strip of paper, which was inserted into the resulting triangle. Of course, nobody sealed the letter (every letter from the front was under censorship so that the enemy did not learn the plans of the Red Army), stamps were not used, and the address was written just on top of the sheet.

Numbering system for parts in the Soviet Union

In the field mail of the former USSR, a special numbering system for various military units and locations was used. Where the usual address should be written, letters and numbers were indicated. The first were the letters w / h, which meant the military unit, then followed a five-digit number series - the code of a certain part, at the end they wrote a letter (it denoted the internal subdivision). It should be noted that in the Soviet Union the delivery of postcards and letters for conscript soldiers (both to them and back) was free of charge.

Current status of field mail in the Russian Federation

In our time the field mail has not lost its importance. It, as before, is the key in providing communication between various military formations. Now each military unit has its own designation, which consists of five (four) digits and a letter (for example, №54321-У or в / ч №01736-С).

In order for the post (field) RF to continue its work, the country's leadership constantly took the necessary decisions on its support and improvement. Thus, in one of the orders of the State Committee on Communications and Information of the Russian Federation (No. 104 of December 25, 1997) it was stated that on ordinary letters and postcards (up to 20 grams), which are sent from military units and sent across the territory of the Russian Federation, Stand stamped triangular shape. This stamp confirms that the letter does not require postal payment. Well, if it weighs more, then dispatch is carried out on general grounds (at a rate).

By the way, triangle letters have not yet outlived themselves, because envelopes are still very hard to get in places of military operations, so this method is still actively used.