deviation". On 22 October 1941 Tito dismissed Milovan Đilas from the command of Partisan forces in Montenegro because of his mistakes during the uprising, including his "Leftist Errors". Battle of Pljevlja After the setback caused by the Italian counteroffensive, toward the end of 1941, the insurgents recovered and resumed with their activities. On 1 December, the Partisan forces attacked Pljevlja but failed to capture it and retreated after suffering heavy casualties. Partisan forces counted 203 killed and 269 wounded soldiers. Many partisans deserted their units and joined the Chetniks. Following their defeat in the Battle of Pljevlja, partisans terrorized people, plundered villages and executed captured Italians, party "sectarians" and "perverts". The Battle of Pljevlja was the last major conflict of the Uprising in Montenegro. Following this battle the communists were expelled from Montenegro until spring 1943. A split between the insurgents A split developed between the insurgents was a result of their defeats inflicted by the Italians and realization by some of them that the uprising was led by the communists. Partisans were determined to carry on with the communist revolution while nationalists recognized that the uprising had been defeated and wanted to stop fighting. In northern Montenegro, there was a particular distinction between communists and nationalists. The communists wanted to continue with the revolution by turning against their class enemies. The focus of the nationalists was to avoid provoking the Italians but to protect the mountain villages if they were attacked. During the autumn, the nationalists contacted the Italians and offered to assist them to fight the Partisans. Subsequently, the nationalists, including Đurišić who was popular in his own Vasojević clan of northern Montenegro, withdrew into the hinterland. Most nationalist commanders took neither side in the sporadic clashes between Italian forces and insurgent forces that became increasingly dominated by Partisans. There were two main reasons for the expansion of the conflict between the two groups of insurgents: a major defeat of Partisan forces during their attack on the Italian garrison in Pljevlja and terror conducted by communists, the so-called "Left Deviations". "A land without Chetniks was suddenly overwhelmed by Chetniks" largely due to the policy of Left Deviations which resulted in a temporary defeat of the Partisan movement in Montenegro in 1942. The general uprising of the people of Montenegro became a civil war. End of uprising In early November 1941 Tito dismissed Milovan Đilas from the command of