began, the insurgent groups included KPJ members and their followers as well as Serb nationalists, and the leadership of the groups was also mixed. Unlike the Partisans who had strong central direction from the outset, during these early stages the nationalists in Montenegro had little or no contact with the headquarters of Draža Mihailović, who would eventually become the titular leader of the Chetnik movement in Yugoslavia. Outside of coordination provided by KPJ members, the nationalists did not necessarily work together, even with those in the neighbouring district. Their motivation for fighting was mainly to protect their families. A split then developed between the communist leaders of the uprising and the nationalists that had participated. The nationalists recognized that the uprising had been defeated and wanted to stop fighting, unlike the Partisans who were determined to continue the struggle. 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. The focus of the nationalists such as Đurišić was to avoid provoking the Italians but to protect the mountain villages if they were attacked. In northern Montenegro, there was a marked distinction between the communists and nationalists, with the nationalists having closer ties with Serbia and a "frontier" mentality towards Muslims. The communists wanted to continue with the revolution by turning against their class enemies, whilst Ustaše manipulation of the Muslims in the Sandžak and the expulsion of Serbs from the areas annexed by Albania combined to make Đurišić and his Chetniks impatient to continue with the uprising by turning on the Muslims and Albanians in the region. The uprising continued to a reduced extent until December 1941. As a result of the uprising, the Italians decided to abolish Mazzolini's position as High Commissioner. On 3 October 1941, the territory was retitled the Governatorato del Montenegro, and Biroli was appointed governor with responsibility for both military and civil affairs. On 1 December, the XIV Corps was redesignated the Command of the Troops of Montenegro. Chetnik commanders for Montenegro In early November 1941, a split developed between the Chetniks and Partisans in the Territory of the Military Commander in Serbia. The leader of the Chetniks in that territory was Mihailović, who was soon to enjoy the support of the Yugoslav government-in-exile. Once the Montenegrin nationalists