Page 6 of A Call to Home (Women of the Resistance #3)

Livno

February 1943

After Mihailovic’s last outburst Steve was afraid that the final rupture had occurred. But he was unable to resolve the situation one way or the other because the Chetnik leader had disappeared, leaving no information about his intentions. Crouched over his radio set he tuned the dials to pick up messages between Chetnik commanders. What he found sent him running over to the British HQ.

‘I’ve just picked up something pretty amazing from the commander of the Second Durmitor Brigade. It seems they were garrisoning Jablanica when they saw a tank company approaching. They assumed it was reinforcements because they didn’t think the Partisans had tanks, so they went out to meet them.’

‘Bloody fools!’ Hudson exclaimed.

‘What happened?’ Bailey asked.

‘What do you think? When they realised their mistake they panicked and ran for it. The Partisans are now in control of Jablanica.’

Bailey turned to the map spread out on the table. ‘Jablanica? That’s one of the main crossing points for the Neretva. I thought Tito had blown all the bridges and was heading north.’

‘That’s the intelligence we had,’ Hudson agreed.

‘So, what’s he playing at? Mihailovic told me before he buggered off that the Partisans were a spent force. He said they had lost hundreds of men and are completely broken, to use his own words. Where the hell is he?’

‘According to the messages I’ve picked up he’s in Kalinovik coordinating the fight to stop the Partisans crossing the river,’ Steve said.

‘With Italian help?’ Bailey asked.

‘And with Italian arms and ammunition, I presume,’ Hudson added. ‘But I don’t mind betting he’s not anywhere near the front line.’

‘I wish we could get a clearer picture.’ Bailey got up from his seat and paced over to the window.

‘I could ride down to Kalinovik,’ Hudson offered.

‘No, I should go.’ Kenneth Greenlees spoke for the first time. ‘It’s my fault he slipped away without giving us any warning. I’m supposed to be his liaison officer, after all.’

‘It’s not your fault, Ken,’ Bailey said. ‘But it would probably be better for you to go. Hudson and I are not persona grata any longer.’ He turned to his wireless operator. ‘Freddy, encode a message to Cairo. Tell them there is fighting going on along the river and it looks as though the Partisans are winning. Steve, you’re doing a great job. See if you can pick up any more information.’

Steve returned to his own quarters and tuned his radio set. He did not have long to wait before he picked up a panicked signal from a source he could not identify. He hurried back to British HQ.

‘It looks as though the Chetniks are on the run. The Partisans in Jablanica have managed to carry out some kind of repair to the bridge. Last night some of them got across and climbed up the far bank to where the Chets had a bunker. They knocked out the defenders with grenades and that cleared the way for a large Partisan force to follow them. They scattered the Durmitor Brigade, which has been more or less wiped out.’

‘I don’t like the sound of this,’ Bailey said. ‘Things are definitely going badly for the Chets and I wouldn’t put it past Mihailovic to bolt for safety and leave us to fend for ourselves.’