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You are here: Home / Provisional Postmarks / Batakiai 1920-1922

Batakiai 1920-1922

November 20, 2010 By Vytautas Doniela

The township Batakiai (Batoki) lies ca. 20 km nort-east of Tauragė. In World War One, as a locality on the strategic Šiauliai – Tilsit highway, Batakiai was taken by Abteilung Pappritz on the very first day, April 27, 1915, of the start of German advance into Žemaitija. During the German occupation the highway was duplicated by a somewhat parallel railway line which also acquired strategic importance during the war and during the hostilities of the post-war year 1919.

During the German withdrawal from Russia at the end of 1918, the southern section of the strategic links Šiauliai – Tilsit, including Batakiai, was held by Detachement Randow which later became part of Generalkommando 52 (later renamed Brigade Schaulen). In the second half of 1919 these links were zealously controlled by the “bermontininkai”, resulting in tensions and numerous clashes with Lithuanian troops. The full take-over of the militarily important zone by the Lithuanians took place in mid-December 1919.

Batakiai had no post office either in the czarist period or during the German occupation. A Lithuanian postal facility, proabably an agency (agentūra) was set up soon after 1920(?), possibly in the railway station. So far, there is no solid information about the early facts or personnel.

Batakiai was supplied with some values of Fourth Berlin Issue, followed by the Sėjėjas Issue etc. For early cancelling a one-liner cachet “Batakiai” was used, though pen-cancelling cannot be entirely ruled out.

Before long, cancelling was done by a rectangular boxed cachet intended for money orders and parcel cards.

By 1922 or 1923 Batakiai was supplied with a standard calendar-type postmarker.

Known provisional markings:

Cancelling by one-liner cachet:
no date single, Berlin IV 5a [colln. Jankauskas]

Cancelling by boxed cachet:
No date single, Sėjėjas 20 [colln. Doniela]

Filed Under: Provisional Postmarks Tagged With: provisional cancels

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