 The multi-ethnic Commonwealth troops (e.g.British, Polish, and Indian) were joyfully welcomed by the population, who had suffered one year of dire straits, and had witnessed brutal fightings between partisans on the one side, and Nazi occupiers on the other.For example, in July 1943, about thirty local male civilians were killed by Wehrmacht troops, in retaliation for the killing of three Nazi soldiers by partisans nearby.