 During this phase Ostojić first asked Jevđević to obtain more supplies from the Italians , and then when they refused , threatened to declare war on them . By early March , just as the Partisans were forcing a crossing of the Neretva at Jablanica , Mihailović joined Ostojić . In a letter to one of his other Montenegrin Chetnik commanders , Mihailović stated that he was managing the whole operation through Ostojić , although Mihailović later denied that he was in charge of the operation when questioned during his trial by a Partisan court after the war . Mihailović and Ostojić realised that the large concentrations of Chetnik troops in and around Mostar and the nearby bauxite mines were likely to draw German attention , and while they were focused on this issue , the Partisans forced a crossing of the Neretva . 
