Zollgrenzschutz: Border Guards on the Frontier of the Reich, Hauptzollamt Villach, 1941-1945 Chiussi Tommaso
Zollgrenzschutz: Border Guards on the Frontier of the Reich, Hauptzollamt Villach, 1941-1945 Chiussi Tommaso After occupying the Balkans early in the war, the Axis powers constantly struggled to…
Specifikacia Zollgrenzschutz: Border Guards on the Frontier of the Reich, Hauptzollamt Villach, 1941-1945 Chiussi Tommaso
Zollgrenzschutz: Border Guards on the Frontier of the Reich, Hauptzollamt Villach, 1941-1945 Chiussi Tommaso
After occupying the Balkans early in the war, the Axis powers constantly struggled to police the region. The Germans and Italians were heavily engaged with the Allies across multiple fronts, so manpower was thinly spread. The partisan presence was quite substantial, and while the various fractured guerrilla groups expended a great deal of energy fighting among themselves, they were still a threat to German/Italian control.
An example of such a unit is the Zollgrenzschutz (customs-border protection) of the Hauptzollamt (main customs office) Villach. Therefore, much of the responsibility for combating a ruthless and in some cases highly militarized resistance contingent fell to nonmilitary police units. Villach lies where the borders of Austria (then part of Greater Germany), Italy, and Slovenia meet.
It is the gateway to the Julian Alps and during the Second World War was the frontier