FRIULI & VENETO: AUSTRIAN OCCUPATION 1917-1918

At the time of the declaration of war between Italy and Austria, Friuli was divided between the Kingdom of Italy and Austria-Hungary. The region became a battleground for the two armies as the Austrians planned to take back large portions of Northern Italy. After the battle of Caporetto they succeeded in taking over the eastern side of the Venetian region with the Piave River becoming the frontline. In October 1918, Italy was finally able to mount a decisive offensive at Vittorio Veneto which ended with the surrender of 300,000 Austrian soldiers. An armistice was signed on 3 November. Austrian Feldpost stamps were used in the occupied towns, however, beginning in June 1918, Austria issued stamps for use in Italian regions occupied by Austrian troops. A set of 19 Austrian Feldpost stamps of 1917 depicting Emperor Karl I overprinted to highlight the face value in Italian currency [Austrian Crown = 100 hellers = 106c. Italian lira] were issued on 1 June 1918. Apparently, the Emperor was not impressed with his portrait on these stamps and a similar set of 14 values, 13 of them featuring a new portrait, was planned for October but was not issued due to the Austrian defeat. The top value of 1.06 Lire was produced utilizing the 1 Crown denomination of the 1917 Austrian Feldpost series featuring the old portrait. Meanwhile stamps for newspapers, special delivery, and postage due stamps had been issued by overprinting Feldpost issues for Bosnia Herzegovina (special delivery and postage due) and Austro-Hungarian Feldpost stamps for newspapers. Imperforate matchbox revenue stamps for local courier delivery in 18 different towns overprinted “ORTSPOSTMARKE” were prepared but did not get the required approval and are considered unissued. Each town was to have four stamps for basic postal rates.