 During the remainder of the day , the Italians collected the bodies of their dead from the rebel ambush on 28 June , and rescued some Home Guard troops that had escaped Avtovac , but then returned to <unk> , just north of Bileća . The value of further operations in the Gacko and Avtovac areas was brought into question when the Italians reported that both towns had been burned to the ground , and all the inhabitants had been massacred . The Italians blamed Montenegrins attached to the rebels for the destruction and killings in the two towns . The Italian estimate of rebel strength was around 3 @,@ 000 armed with machine guns , artillery and anti @-@ aircraft guns . A German intelligence officer from Sarajevo arrived at Prpić 's headquarters in Mostar to receive a briefing on the situation . The small garrison of Gacko was anticipating an attack by rebels during the night , but in the afternoon 180 Home Guardsmen that had withdrawn from Avtovac arrived to bolster their position , and the night passed without incident . 
