Editing Yugoslav Partisans (section)

===Allied support===
{{See also|Yugoslavia and the Allies}}
[[File:148 Squadron Halifax Italy WWII IWM CNA 3231.jpg|thumb|A Royal Air Force [[Halifax bomber]] of [[No. 148 Squadron RAF|148 Squadron]], loaded with parachute canisters containing supplies for the Yugoslav Partisans (1944–1945)]]
Later in the conflict the Partisans were able to win the moral, as well as limited material support of the western [[Allies of World War II|Allies]], who until then had supported General [[Draža Mihailović]]'s Chetnik Forces, but were finally convinced of their collaboration fighting by many military missions dispatched to both sides during the course of the war.<ref>{{cite book|title=Tito|last=Barnett|first=Neil|author-link=Neil Barnett|year=2006|publisher=Haus Publishing|location=London|isbn=978-1-904950-31-8|pages=65–66}}</ref>

To gather [[military intelligence|intelligence]], agents of the western Allies were infiltrated into both the Partisans and the Chetniks. The intelligence gathered by liaisons to the resistance groups was crucial to the success of supply missions and was the primary influence on Allied strategy in [[Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia|Yugoslavia]]. The search for intelligence ultimately resulted in the demise of the [[Chetniks]] and their eclipse by Tito's Partisans. In 1942, although supplies were limited, token support was sent equally to each. The new year would bring a change. The Germans were executing [[Operation Schwarz]] (the Fifth anti-Partisan offensive), one of a series of offensives aimed at the resistance fighters, when [[William Deakin|F.W.D. Deakin]] was sent by the British to gather information.{{citation needed|date=December 2011}} On April 13, 1941, Winston Churchill sent his greetings to the Yugoslav people. In his greeting he stated:

{{Quote| You are making a heroic resistance against formidable odds and in doing so you are proving true to your great traditions. Serbs, we know you. You were our allies in the last war and your armies are covered with glory. Croats and Slovenes, we know your military history. For centuries you were the bulwark of Christianity. Your fame as warriors spread far and wide on the Continent. One of the finest incidents in the history of Croatia is the one when, in the 16th Century, long before the French Revolution, the peasants rose to defend the rights of man, and fought for those principles which centuries later gave the world democracy. Yugoslavs, you are fighting for those principles today. The British Empire is fighting with you, and behind us is the great democracy of the U.S.A., with its vast and ever-increasing resources. However hard the fight, our victory is assured.{{sfn|Davidson|1946|loc=[https://znaci.org/00001/3_2_8.htm 2.8 The Sixth Offensive]}}<ref>{{cite book |last1=Gilbert |first1=Martin |title=The Churchill War Papers: The ever-widening war, 1941 |date=1993 |publisher=W. W. Norton & Company |page=490}}</ref>|[[Winston Churchill]]}}

His reports contained two important observations. The first was that the Partisans were courageous and aggressive in battling the German [[1st Mountain Division (Wehrmacht)|1st Mountain]] and 104th Light Division, had suffered significant casualties, and required support. The second observation was that the entire German 1st Mountain Division had traveled from Russia by railway through Chetnik-controlled territory. British intercepts (ULTRA) of German message traffic confirmed Chetnik timidity. All in all, intelligence reports resulted in increased Allied interest in Yugoslavia air operations and shifted policy. In September 1943, at Churchill's request, Brigadier General [[Sir Fitzroy Maclean, 1st Baronet|Fitzroy Maclean]] was parachuted to Tito's headquarters near Drvar to serve as a permanent, formal liaison to the Partisans. While the Chetniks were still occasionally supplied, the Partisans received the bulk of all future support.{{sfn|Martin|1946|p=34}}

Thus, after the [[Tehran Conference]] the Partisans received official recognition as the legitimate national liberation force by the Allies, who subsequently set up the [[RAF]] [[Balkan Air Force]] (under the influence and suggestion of Brigadier-General Fitzroy Maclean) with the aim to provide increased supplies and tactical air support for Marshal Tito's Partisan forces. During a meeting with [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] and the [[Combined Chiefs of Staff]] of 24 November 1943, [[Winston Churchill]] pointed out that:{{quote|It was a lamentable fact that virtually no supplies had been conveyed by sea to the 222,000 followers of Tito.&nbsp;... These stalwarts were holding as many Germans in Yugoslavia as the combined Anglo-American forces were holding in Italy south of Rome. The Germans had been thrown into some confusion after the collapse of Italy and the Patriots had gained control of large stretches of the coast. We had not, however, seized the opportunity. The Germans had recovered and were driving the Partisans out bit by bit. The main reason for this was the artificial line of responsibility which ran through the Balkans. (...&nbsp;) Considering that the Partisans had given us such a generous measure of assistance at almost no cost to ourselves, it was of high importance to ensure that their resistance was maintained and not allowed to flag. |Winston Churchill, 24 November 1943<ref>Walter R. Roberts, ''Tito, Mihailović, and the Allies'' Duke University Press, 1987; {{ISBN|0-8223-0773-1}}, p. 165</ref>}}