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Auction: CSS40 - The Philatelic Collectors' Series Sale
Lot: 2103

Japanese Occupation of Asia
Military Mail
South Seas, North Mariana Islands
Tinian: 1943 (c.) illustrated military card from "U21", to Chosen-Gun in Japan with censor handstamp in rose-red with Ozeki seal; the illustration is of a Girl in Bali. Central folding crease. "U21" was for Tinian Island

Tinian was not garrisoned by the Japanese military until the latter stages of World War II, when the Japanese realized its strategic importance as a possible base for American Boeing B-29 Superfortress bombers. The island was seized by the Allies during the Battle of Tinian from 24 July to 1 August 1944. Of the 8,500-man Japanese garrison, only 313 survived the battle. At the time, there were an estimated 15,700 Japanese civilians (including 2700 ethnic Koreans) on the island. Many hundreds were also killed in the crossfire, took their own lives, or were executed by the Japanese military to avoid capture by the Americans.

Estimate
HK$1,000 to HK$1,500