74 World War Two and the Partisan Struggle
experience, to be commanders of the Partisan units. He also renounced the so-
called “Comintern cadres,” whose only merit was having spent time in Mos-
cow.^126 As Koča Popović wrote: “In one word, he showed that he was able to
fully grasp what needed to be done.... When the uprising started, he rapidly
became the unquestioned leader; from the very beginning, he thought with his
head, even though he decided to start the resistance only after the German
attack against the Soviet Union.”^127
Tensions with Chetniks and the Užice RepublicThe appearance of a rival resistance movement ready to help the Soviet Union
in its struggle against Hitler, regardless of the sacrifice, compelled the Chetniks
to better define their program and tactics. They declared themselves against
a mindless fight with the Germans, in anticipation of a change in the fortunes
of war, affirming that the “moment of decisive struggle had not yet come”
and that it was necessary to save Serb blood and preserve the “biological sub-
stance of the race.” Awaiting the right moment for the uprising—“when the
day will come”—Mihailović decided to drastically limit any confrontation with
the Germans for the time being. Nonetheless, in spite of this basic difference,
at the very beginning the two groups were not prejudicially hostile to each
other but even tried to coordinate their actions against the Wehrmacht and
against the Ustaše in East Bosnia. The results of these attempts were, however,
minimal, mostly because of the Chetniks’ poor discipline and lack of pugnacity,
as they considered themselves not yet ready to fight.^128
Tito met Mihailović and his deputy, Dragiša Vasić, on 19 September 1941 in
the village of Struganik, near Valjevo, on the slopes of Ravna Gora. But since
they had opposite aims, they were unable to find a common understanding.
Mihailo vić claimed the command of all the fighting forces for himself so he
could have them passively wait for “better conditions” and so he would be able
to reestablish the old royal regime after the war, whereas Tito was burning with
impatience to continue an undertaking that had started so well. Above all, he
was not ready to give up the liberation committees that were appearing in vil-
lages under his control, rightly considering them the basis of the new social
order. In the end, they only managed to agree that Partisans and Chetniks would
refrain from shooting each other.^129 However, Tito did not come away from this
first meeting with a negative impression of Mihailović, as he later confessed to
a group of friends: “You know, Draža was my weak spot.” He found him a brave
Serb officer of the old school, who could have been an ally if he had not been
encouraged to fight the Partisans by the royal government in exile.^130
Mihailović did not share those sentiments, suspecting Tito of being a Soviet
agent of Russian origin. He was well aware what color the new regime would