In Russia In October 1941, the military advance of
Nazi Germany into the
Soviet Union reached the
Lokot area near the city of
Bryansk, capturing it on 6 October 1941. In November 1941, an engineer at the local alcohol plant,
Bronislav Kaminski, and a local technical school teacher,
Konstantin Voskoboinik, approached the German military administration with a proposal to assist in establishing a civil administration and local police. Before the beginning of the
war on the Eastern Front, the Lokot area had been designated as a settlement zone for people prohibited from returning to their former homes in major Soviet cities—Kaminski himself being one of them. Voskoboinik was appointed by the Germans as
starosta of the "Lokot
volost" and as head of the local militia unit. In cooperation with German forces, the militia began participating in anti-partisan operations. By the spring of 1942, its strength had risen to approximately 1,400 armed personnel. The number of Soviet partisans operating in the region was estimated at up to 20,000, and they controlled much of the rear area of
Army Group Centre's operations. In mid-March 1942, Kaminski's representative informed the German
Second Panzer Army headquarters at
Orel that Kaminski's unit was "ready to actively fight the guerrillas" and conduct propaganda against "Jew-Bolshevism" and Soviet partisans. Subsequently, the commander of the
2nd Army,
Generaloberst Rudolf Schmidt, appointed Kaminski as mayor of the Army Rear Area 532, headquartered in Lokot. On 19 July 1942, following approval by
Field Marshal Günther von Kluge, commander of
Army Group Centre, Schmidt and the 532nd Area commander, Kaminski was granted a degree of
autonomy and nominal self-governing authority under the supervision of Major von Veltheim and Colonel Rübsam. Kaminski became the chief mayor of the Autonomous Administration of Lokot (which included eight
raions) and commander of the local militia brigade. ) Beginning in June 1942, Kaminski's militia participated in a major operation codenamed
Operation Vogelsang as part of
Generalleutnant Werner Freiherr von und zu Gilsa's Kampfgruppe (task force)
Gilsa II. This formation included one Panzer regiment from the
5th Panzer Division, elements of the
216th Infantry Division, Kaminski's militia, and detachments from the Hungarian 102nd and 108th Light Divisions. The militia served as guides,
scouts, and interpreters, remaining with
Kampfgruppe Gilsa II until its disbandment in October 1942. The official results of this operation—the first major engagement involving Kaminski's troops—reported 1,193 alleged partisans killed, 1,400 wounded, 498 captured, and 12,531 civilians "evacuated". The
Kampfgruppe suffered 58 killed and 130 wounded out of a total strength of more than 6,500 personnel.
Russian People's Liberation Army Kaminski decided to give his militia an official title, naming it the Russian People's Liberation Army (
Russkaya Osvoboditelnaya Narodnaya Armiya, RONA). In autumn 1942, he ordered the compulsory conscription of all able-bodied men into the militia. The units were further reinforced with "volunteers" recruited from among Soviet prisoners of war in nearby Nazi concentration camps. From 1941 onward, due to fuel shortages and minor mechanical issues, Kaminski's unit was instructed to collect abandoned Soviet tanks and armoured vehicles. By November 1942, the formation possessed at least two
BT-7 light tanks and one 76 mm artillery system. Due to the shortage of military uniforms and footwear—some members were reportedly barefoot—the Germans supplied used uniforms, sufficient for only four battalions. By late 1942, the militia of the
Lokot Autonomy had expanded to a 14-
battalion brigade, comprising nearly 8,000 armed men. From 19 November to December 1942, Lokot was inspected under orders from
Alfred Rosenberg. As of January 1943, the brigade numbered 9,828 men; its armoured unit included one heavy
KV-2, two medium
T-34, three BT-7, and two
BT-5 light tanks, along with three armoured cars (one
BA-10 and two
BA-20). In spring 1943, the brigade was reorganised into five regiments, each consisting of three battalions, along with an anti-aircraft battalion equipped with three anti-aircraft guns and four heavy machine guns, and an armoured unit. A separate "guard" battalion was also formed. The total brigade strength was estimated at up to 12,000 men. Prior to
Operation Citadel, the major German offensive aimed at destroying the
Kursk salient, the brigade participated in
Operation Zigeunerbaron ("Gypsy Baron") in May–June 1943, alongside other German units. This was followed by similar operations—
Freischütz and
Tannhäuser—targeting partisans and involving reprisals against the civilian population. During the summer of 1943, the brigade experienced mass desertions, partly due to recent Soviet victories and partisan efforts to persuade Kaminski's troops to defect. Several assassination attempts were made on Kaminski's life; each time, he narrowly survived and ordered the execution of those involved. German officers passing through Lokot reported seeing bodies hanging from gallows outside Kaminski's headquarters. To prevent a collapse in discipline, a German liaison staff was assigned to Kaminski's headquarters to reorganise the brigade and restore order. At this stage, the unit's strength was estimated at around 8,500 men. Its armoured component included one heavy KV-2, four medium T-34s, three BT-5 light tanks, one T-37 amphibious tank, one BA-10 armoured car, and two armoured carriers. Following the failure of Operation Citadel, Soviet counter-offensives forced the brigade and their families to retreat alongside the withdrawing German forces. On 29 July 1943, Kaminski issued orders for the evacuation of property and the families of RONA members and Lokot officials. By the end of August 1943, up to 30,000 people—including 10,000–11,000 brigade members—had been relocated by the Germans to the
Lyepyel area of
Vitebsk in Belarus. According to post-war Soviet estimates, up to 10,000 civilians were killed during the existence of the Kaminski formation.
In Belarus The brigade eventually settled in the
Lyepyel area of
Vitebsk, a region heavily dominated by partisans. The unit was engaged in continuous combat in this area for the remainder of the year. During the retreat, desertions from the brigade increased significantly, bringing the formation to the brink of collapse. When the commander of the 2nd Regiment, Major Tarasov, decided to defect to the partisans with his entire regiment—having been promised amnesty in return—Kaminski reportedly flew to Tarasov's headquarters and, according to one account, strangled him and eight others in front of their men. Despite the threat of reprisals, up to 200 soldiers deserted within the following two days. By early October 1943, the brigade had lost two-thirds of its personnel, although it retained 12 tanks (eight of them
T-34s), one 122 mm gun, three 76 mm guns, and eight 45 mm artillery pieces. On 27 January 1944,
Heinrich Himmler awarded Kaminski the
Iron Cross 2nd Class and, on the same day, the Iron Cross 1st Class, in recognition of his "achievements." On 15 February 1944, Kaminski issued an order to relocate the brigade and its administration further west to the
Dzyatlava area in western Belarus.
Volksheer-Brigade and personnel of the
Volksheer-Brigade Kaminski during Operation
Frühlingsfest, Belarus, May 1944 At this stage, the brigade's ranks were reinforced with police units from Belarus. In March 1944, the formation was renamed the
Volksheer-Brigade Kaminski. Beginning on 11 April 1944, it was attached to
SS-Kampfgruppe von Gottberg, which also included the
SS-Sonderbataillon Dirlewanger. The unit participated in a series of large-scale anti-partisan operations, including
Regenschauer (reporting up to 7,000 partisans killed),
Frühlingsfest (7,011 partisans reported killed and 1,065 weapons captured), and
Kormoran (7,697 partisans reported killed and 325 weapons captured). During these operations, local civilians were often executed as "suspected partisans" or deported for forced labour, and numerous villages were destroyed.
Waffen-Sturm-Brigade In June 1944, the brigade was incorporated into the
Waffen-SS. Upon its transfer, it was redesignated as the
Waffen-Sturm-Brigade RONA, and
Bronislav Kaminski was granted the rank of
Waffen-Brigadeführer der SS—the only individual to hold this title. Following the launch of
Operation Bagration, the brigade's anti-partisan operations were suspended. Its remaining personnel, estimated between 3,000 and 7,000 depending on the source, were regrouped at the
Neuhammer SS training camp. Plans were subsequently made to create a non-German SS division, with the structure for the
29. Waffen-Grenadier-Division der SS (russische Nr. 1) established by an order issued on 1 August 1944. On the same day, Kaminski was officially promoted to
Waffen-Brigadeführer und Generalmajor der Waffen-SS.
In Warsaw The
Warsaw Uprising, which began on 1 August 1944, disrupted
Heinrich Himmler's plans for the RONA formation. On 4 August 1944, a combat-ready regiment of the brigade was ordered to assist German forces in suppressing the uprising.
SS-Gruppenführer Heinz Reinefarth was placed in command of
Kampfgruppe Reinefarth, a pacification unit that included the Kaminski Brigade, the
SS-Sonderregiment Dirlewanger, and several
Ordnungspolizei and SS rear-area units. Himmler personally requested Kaminski's participation, and Kaminski responded by assembling a task force of approximately 1,700 unmarried men, reportedly supported by four
T-34 tanks, one
SU-76, and several artillery pieces. The unit, commanded in the field by Kaminski's chief of staff,
Waffen-Sturmbannführer Ivan Frolov, may have numbered around 1,600 men with seven artillery pieces and four mortars, according to Frolov's later testimony. The Kaminski volunteers were first tasked with clearing the
Ochota district, defended by about 300 poorly armed Polish insurgents. The attack was scheduled for the morning of 5 August but was delayed when Kaminski's men were found looting abandoned houses instead of assembling for combat. The offensive eventually began near noon but advanced only about 275 metres before nightfall. The brigade had neither experience nor training in
urban warfare, and many soldiers were encountering a major city for the first time. They performed poorly and suffered heavy casualties. During these operations, thousands of Polish civilians were murdered by RONA troops in what became known as the
Ochota massacre; many victims were also subjected to rape. By mid-August, the Kaminski Brigade was transferred to the
Wola district, where it again failed to achieve success. In one incident, a sub-unit paused to loot a building on the front line and was subsequently cut off and destroyed by Polish forces. By 27 August, German commanders deemed the brigade too undisciplined and unreliable for further combat. Despite nearly a month of fighting, it had failed to achieve any major objectives. The German commander in Warsaw,
SS-Obergruppenführer Erich von dem Bach-Zelewski, later testified that the unit "had no military combat value whatsoever, with both officers and soldiers lacking even a basic tactical understanding. I saw Kaminski's men removing cartloads of stolen jewellery, gold watches, and precious stones. The capture of a liquor supply was more important to the brigade than seizing a position on the same street. Each assault was instantly halted, as the units dispersed into looting mobs." Kaminski himself participated in the looting, claiming he was collecting valuables for his "Russian Liberation Fund." Major General Günter Rohr, commander of Warsaw's southern sector, demanded the brigade's removal, and Bach-Zelewski agreed, stating that the unit hindered the suppression of the uprising. Once replacement units arrived, the Kaminski formation was withdrawn, having lost about 500 men in combat. The remnants of the RONA unit, now notorious even among SS formations, were reassigned to the
Kampinos Forest to assist in encircling Warsaw. There, an artillery battery and one infantry battalion were attacked by about 80 Polish partisans under Lieutenant Colonel "Dolina" (
Adolf Pilch) while stationed in the deserted village of
Truskaw. Nearly 100 RONA and German SS personnel were killed during the midnight assault. The survivors—many reportedly intoxicated—fled in disorder, abandoning their weapons. The 1st Regiment lost its entire artillery battery and much of the loot taken from Warsaw. According to some Polish sources, 250 RONA troops were killed during the night of 2–3 September in the
raid on Truskaw, and another 100 died in the on the village of
Marianów the following night. The diary of a RONA soldier, Ivan Vashenko, who was killed at Truskaw, was later published in Poland in 1947. During the Warsaw campaign, Kaminski was summoned to
Łódź for a leadership conference but never arrived. Official reports blamed his death on an ambush by Polish partisans in which Kaminski and several RONA officials, including chief of staff
Obersturmbannführer Ilya Shavykin, were allegedly killed. Other accounts suggest he was executed following a court-martial or shot by the
Gestapo. Kaminski's death, combined with the brigade’s poor discipline and combat record, ended plans to expand it into a full division. After his death, command of the remaining unit passed to
SS-Brigadeführer und Generalmajor der Polizei Christoph Diehm.
In Slovakia As the front line advanced once more, the remnants of the brigade, along with accompanying civilian refugees, were scheduled to be evacuated to
Hungary. However, the outbreak of the
Slovak National Uprising left them stranded in railway trains near
Racibórz in southern Poland. From 27 September 1944, the brigade came under the overall command of SS-Gruppenführer . In October, following an inspection of the brigade's personnel in the Raum Kattowitz area, German authorities decided to incorporate the remaining elements of Kaminski’s brigade into General
Andrey Vlasov's
Russian Liberation Army.
Dissolution From November 1944, the remaining elements of the brigade—estimated by some sources to number up to 2,000 personnel—were transferred to the military training camp at
Münsingen. There, they became part of the newly formed
600. Infanterie-Division (russisch) under
Andrey Vlasov's
Russian Liberation Army. Former RONA members were reorganised into one of the division's regiments. Accompanying civilians were relocated to
Pomerania to serve as labourers.
After the war Following the end of the Second World War in Europe, some former RONA and Lokot personnel were repatriated by the Western Allies to the Soviet Union. In late 1946, a Soviet military court sentenced Ivan Frolov and several others to death. Some repatriated members of the brigade and supporters of the Lokot Autonomy formed partisan groups around Lokot; however, these groups gradually degenerated into criminal organisations, with the last major group being eliminated in 1951. == Ranks and insignia ==