Mission Greenwood–Rootham was a World War II Special Operations Executive (SOE) expedition to the Yugoslav Army in the Fatherland (Chetniks) in Homolje district of Eastern Serbia near the border with Romania.
In this case, to a strategically important location, able to monitor and disrupt shipping on Danube (transporting Romanian oil crucial for the war effort), Belgrade–Salonika railway (used for supply of German troops in North Africa) and Bor copper mines—the largest in Europe.
[4][5] The objects were: to collect intelligence about Axis military dispositions and to encourage and promote resistance among the guerrillas, particularly in the way of sabotage of lines of communication and industrial facilities working for the enemy.
The strategy meant that they would be supplied with explosives, medical equipment and similar, while they were asking for light-machine guns and ammunition, boots, uniforms and wireless accessories.
On 31 May, en route to Deli Jovan, they encountered a young wireless enthusiast who made the very first radio contact between Mihailović and the British naval monitoring station in Malta in August 1941, thus starting the chain of events.
[9][10] Throughout the period, the lack of four-engine long-range aircraft and trained crew, unpredictable weather over the Mediterranean, general bureaucracy and feeling of a 'side-show' meant that flights were fewer and cargo continued to consist of explosive and medical supplies, rather than small arms and ammunition.
[14] On 26 June, Rootham observed German-uniformed Slovak soldiers attack the village of Rudna Glava, and saw civilians fleeing across the fields with their life belongings and livestock.
[15] Mihailovich's commanders, by overplaying what was good in their hand and by trying to cover up what was weak, sapped the confidence in them of those British officers who were the sole impartial interpreters of their cause to the outside world ... we felt the concern at the exaggerations and pomposity, as well as in some cases the incompetence and lack of team spirit.
Rootham considered this a clear violation of the agreement and stated that "the arms which we supplied were to be used for fighting the Germans and not for keeping in cold storage or for civil war".
[22] On 15 October, in order to try to sabotage the Bor copper mines, SOE headquarters sent 48-year-old Major Scorgie, a mining-engineer who was hoping to work with someone 'inside'.
[27] On 2 March, the mission received the telegram that the decision had been taken to evacuate all the British men and officers at present with Mihailović and to move towards Brig Armstrong's HQ in Western Serbia.
[28][29] They were not surprised, as few weeks previously, Rootham noted: The truth as we see it is that the Serbs are fundamentally and spiritually on our side; but that through the lack of vision of Mihailovic, whom we built up into a national leader, they have lost sight of the prime fact that there is only one war, and have allowed their own problems to bulk larger than the main one.
It is perhaps unwise to argue from the particular to the general, but we cannot forget that it was the so-called collaborationist organisation of Mihailovich which, with less than no inducement and no motive but honour and chivalry, saved us British in Eastern Serbia on March 28th 1944.
[33] A day later, the mission met up with Gen Draža Mihailović, whom Rootham found modest and conscientious, but also "desperately tired, sad and worried man".