June 1940 WWII French army cover Syria affected Italian invasion, via PALESTINE

Description: WWII French military mail mailed during the Battle of France & Italian invasion, transited via Palestine: 16 JUNE 1940 postmarked stampless On Active Service (OAS) cover endorsed in French "FM", sent from FREJUS to a sergeant of the RACL (Regiment d'artillerie coloniale du Levante) - Colonial Artillery Regiment in the Levant - in DAMASCUS Syria. An intricate period of military and postal history: Germany invaded France on 10 May, and Italy declared war on France on 10 June; on 14 June the German army occupied Paris and on 17 June the new Petain government declared its intention to seek an armistice with Germany. Italy intended to invade southern France in the area adjoining her, which she did on 21 June, eventually occupying the sending locale and the surrounding region just up to Marseille. The cover was subsequently opened and sealed by the censor in LONDON (PC90 #4336): it may have been transferred to Gibraltar and then to the UK or it may have been sent to the UK directly (likely through neutral Spain-Portugal as Paris had fallen) - the Italian declaration of war on France on 10 June brought about the closure of the Gibraltar censor station shortly thereafter and an almost immediate suspension of air and sea mail through the Mediterranean. As the cover was subsequently censored in JERUSALEM by censor J14 (hexagonal handstamp on front), it probably reached Palestine via the new "Horseshoe Route" eastwards from the UK, around southern Africa and through the Red Sea-Suez Canal. In this period Britain and unoccupied Vichy France, in southern France from where the cover originated, had intermittent periods of diplomatic and mail suspensions as a result of British military attacks against her, though after August 1940 they resumed both and Vichy remained neutral towards the UK. Nevertheless as recently as late September Britain attempted to invade and liberate Vichy held Dakar in West Africa though the operation failed. In spite of these events the cover was transmitted onwards from Palestine where it was opened and resealed in Syria by the Vichy French censor & tied by the L.2. #23 inspector; backstamped 5 NOV 1940 DAMASCUS transit-arrival through the civilian post, it was transferred to the military & backstamped 16 NOV 1940 Poste Aux Armees 610 arrival where it was likely front stamped by the negative seal CPMD 22 (Control Poste Militaire Damas -?). Cut open at left. An extraordinary postal history item. --- Most of our merchandise ships out from Israel | orders are combined | additional items are charged 75c: DOMESTIC services available are Registered mail (default) and courier mail. Please contact us if you desire courier mail. BUYERS IN ISRAEL: eBay does not recognize Israel as being a "domestic" mailing destination - please contact us to be invoiced and charged $5 for registered mail. --- OVERSEAS services available are Priority ECO Post registered airmail (default - $15 flat fee) and express EMS mail (3-day / 5-day to-door delivery - $40 flat fee). These options can be selected on check-out. We recognize that the shipping overseas is expensive - only ECO Post shows tracking up to delivery; for less expensive purchases on the understanding of the customer that tracking is not available we can user $5 standard registered mail overseas - please contact us so we can invoice you at this rate. --- Prospective buyers in countries without postal relations with Israel can receive orders via a third country. Please contact us for this option. --- To see higher end specialized philatelic items + materials from countries which cannot be displayed on ebay, add d o t com to our our handle name

Price: 699 USD

Location: Jerusalem Israel

End Time: 2025-01-15T09:08:40.000Z

Shipping Cost: 12 USD