grievances against the Italians regarding their annexation of important food producing territory in Kosovo. and a salt producing facility at Ulcinj to Albania, and the economic damage inflicted on many Montenegrins by the temporary removal from circulation of Yugoslav banknotes of 500 dinars and more. There were three reasons the Italians had to be very wary of dissatisfaction among the Montenegrin people, the large numbers of unsecured military weapons following the collapse of the Yugoslav Army, significant numbers of former Yugoslav Army officers and men that had been repatriated following their capture during the invasion, and the strength of the KPJ in the occupied territory. Around 400 former Yugoslav Army officers returned to Montenegro, along with many non-commissioned officers, civil administrators and communists. During the invasion, the Yugoslav Zeta Division, composed mostly of Montenegrins, had briefly counter-attacked into Albania, but had largely returned home with their weapons and equipment following the Yugoslav surrender. In early July 1941, a senior Montenegrin member of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the KPJ, Milovan Đilas, arrived in Montenegro from Belgrade to start the communist struggle against the occupying forces. Declaration of independence Drljević and his colleagues were able to convince the Italians that if they created an independent Montenegro with Italian support, there would be little opposition. In early June 1941, Mazzolini formed a consultative council consisting of 65 Italian-paid deputies who were willing to work with the Italian authorities. In early July, the town and village committees sent their delegates to the National Assembly () in Cetinje in order to "declare the restoration of Montenegro". The declaration would abolish the November 1918 union with Serbia, Montenegro's relationship to the Serb Karađorđević dynasty, and the Yugoslav constitution of 1931. It would also proclaim that Montenegro was a sovereign and independent state ruled by a constitutional monarchy. When the members of the National Assembly realised that the declaration would result in a union of the Italian monarchy with Montenegro, and offered no real independence to the new state, nearly all of the delegates returned to their towns and villages. No member of the Petrović-Njegoš dynasty was willing to accept the throne, so the National Assembly decided to establish a "Regency" under the nominal rule of Italian King Victor Emmanuel III. The declaration was passed by acclamation on 12 July. Initially there were manifestations of approval in the main cities of Montenegro, but in