Suitable prisoners of war were to be checked, released from captivity, and after a short trial period, dressed in German uniform.
On the 19 February, the chief of armaments and the commander of the reserve army ordered the Caucasian-Mohammedan and Turkestan legions were separated.
In 1943 the headquarters of the North Caucasian Legion was created in the town of Mirgorod of Poltava region under command of Lt. Col. Ristov.
In addition to the reinforced 9 field battalions, 1 battalion of the Sonderverband "Bergmann" (Special Unit "Mountaineer") and one combat group of Waffen-SS, the natives of the North Caucasus were part of a separate Sonderkommando Schamil consisting of three groups of forces up to a platoon, three sapper, railway and road-building companies, as well as two serf regiments.
According to the researcher Traho R. "The total number of North Caucasian volunteers since the beginning of the war against the USSR and until 1945 amounted to 28-30 thousand people".