The Fella group

The Gruppe Fella or Fella group was a combat formation fighting on the Italian front. According to the unit order, his most important unit was the 59th Mountain Brigade, in which the largest unit was the Carinthian Volunteer Rifles formation. All this is important because the coat of arms of the province of Carinthia was visible on the postcard bearing the name “Fella group”, and the same coat of arms also appeared on the cap badges of the volunteers.

The postcard reports on donations supporting the Fella group’s aid fund, according to which 6,000 Kronen have already flowed in for the noble purpose. In the picture, the coat of arms is decorated with nails. Perhaps there was a larger shield into which the donators could hammer nails purchased with money, as was customary in many cities. It is interesting that the fundraising took place for a larger unit, that is, for the Fella group, in which not only the shooters identified by the crest, but also other troops were included.

For the record, I’ll also present the Fella group’s “real” badge, which is specifically addressed to this battle group. The group got its name from the front line along the Fella stream. The stream flows under the mountain chain that runs along the Carinthia region and the national border, at the section where the border line changes its east-west direction and turns south. The watershed between the Fella and the Isonzo is the Predil Pass, which was fiercely attacked by the Italians in the Great War.