Most of these troops were Red Army prisoners of war who formed a common cause with the Germans (cf.

Although Asian peoples had been perceived as "racially inferior" by the Nazis they were ready to use them for war effort.

Under the Wehrmacht's command, these units were deployed exclusively on the Western Front in France and Italy, isolating them from contact with the Red Army.

The battalions of the Turkestan Legion formed part of the 162nd Infantry Division and saw much action in Axis-occupied Yugoslavia (especially modern-day Croatia) and Italy.

Notable members of the legion include Baymirza Hayit, a Turkologist who after the war settled in West Germany and became an advocate for Pan-Turkist political causes.