to argue for more resources to push the project forward, and accordingly made his way back to Partisan HQ in Jajce. He returned to the islands, first on Hvar and then on Vis, to wait for the response to his strongly worded signals. On Vis he discovered an overgrown British war cemetery dating from a naval victory over the French in 1811. Gaining support In Cairo Maclean dined with Alexander Cadogan, his FO superior, and the next day reported to Anthony Eden, the Foreign Secretary. He stated his conclusions straightforwardly: that the Partisans were important militarily and politically and would influence the future of Yugoslavia whether the Allies helped them or not; their impact on the Germans could be greatly increased by Allied support; they were Communist and oriented towards the USSR. He says that his report created "something of a stir". He was sent back to collect two Yugoslav liaison officers who had not been allowed to come out with him on the first Navy pick-up. From Bari on the Italian Adriatic coast, now a centre of operations for the Tactical Air Force, he saw that this would prove difficult, as the German offensive had captured the whole Dalmatian coast. Fortunately, he had asked Air Marshal Sholto Douglas to assign him a liaison officer, and Wing Commander John B. Selby proved a godsend. Together they obtained the use of a Baltimore bomber and an escort of Lightnings. Twice they set out from Italy on a sunny day and twice the clouds blocked them from the Bosnian hills. On the third day the fighters were unavailable so the bomber set out alone, but again the weather made it impossible to land. On their return to Italy, they received a signal that the Partisans had captured a small German plane that they proposed to use. As they were loading up the plane, an enemy aircraft, alerted by a traitor, bombed the landing strip at Glamoc, killing Whetherly, Knight, and Ribar, and wounding Milojevic. This event, at the end of November, proved a spur to getting the mission higher priority, and soon Maclean got a large Dakota and half a squadron of Lightnings to complete the landing operation. Milojevic and Velebit accompanied Maclean to Alexandria, where the Yugoslavs decompressed for a few days, while Maclean sought out the prime minister. Churchill received him in trademark fashion: in bed, wearing an embroidered dressing