the Chetniks. Hundreds of Chetniks were disarmed. At the beginning of May, Pavle Đurišić established contacts with parts of the 1st Mountain Division and the 4th Brandenburg Regiment. The Germans decided to conceal their real intentions, so they let the first group of disarmed Chetniks go home. By accepting communication with the Chetniks, by mid-May 1943 they managed to concentrate a large number of Chetniks, led by Đurišić, around the town of Kolašin, where German combat units were already deployed. In a surprise raid on the morning of May 14, despite the established contacts and strong opposition of the commander of the Italian 14th Corps, general Ercole Roncaglia, the Germans captured the Chetniks in their sleep and disarmed them. German forces on the ground appealed to the higher command to reconsider the decision to arrest the Chetniks, because they proved to be reliable allies against the partisans, but the German command did not give up on the original idea. One part of captured Chetniks, including Đurišić, was to be interned in prison camps in Greece and Poland, and the rest for labor battalions in the upcoming fight against the Partisans. In the meantime, Mihailović left the village of Gornje Lipovo and headed for Serbia. After capturing the majority of Montenegrin Chetniks near Kolašin, the Germans continued with operation Schwarz. Phase I: Initial battles (15–20 May) After a period of troop concentration, the offensive started on 15 May 1943. The Axis troops used the advantage of better starting positions to encircle and isolate the partisans on the Durmitor mountain area, located between the Tara and Piva rivers in the mountainous areas of northern Montenegro and forced them to engage in a fierce month-long battle on waste territory. The first clashes after operation Schwarz commenced, took place in the north, between Čajniče and Foča, with parts of the 369th Legionary Division, and in the east, near Brodarevo and Mojkovac, with the 1st Mountain Division. Phase II: Breakthrough attempt toward eastern Bosnia (21–27 May) Faced with the advance of large German forces from the east, the Supreme Headquarters decided to prevent the closure of the ring by capturing Foča and provide communication with eastern Bosnia. The attack was carried out from May 21 to 25 by the reinforced 1st Proletarian Division against the majority of the German 118th Jäger Division and the 4th Home Guard Jäger Brigade of the Independent State of Croatia.