Each battalion consisted of approximately 500 men armed with light infantry weapons.[1] In the east, each company also had a heavy machine-gun detachment.[21] Administratively, the Police Battalions remained under the Chief of Police Kurt Daluege, but operationally they were under the authority of regional SS and Police Leaders (SS- und Polizeiführer), who reported up a separate chain of command directly to Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler.[22] The battalions were used for various auxiliary duties, including the so-called anti-partisan operations, support of combat troops, and construction of defence works (i.e. Atlantic Wall).[23] Some of them were focused on traditional security roles as an occupying force, while others were directly involved in actions designed to inflict terror and in the ensuing Holocaust.[24] While they were similar to Waffen-SS, they were not part of the thirty-eight Waffen-SS divisions, and should not be confused with them, including the national 4th SS Polizei Panzergrenadier Division.[23] The battalions were originally numbered in series from 1 to 325, but in February 1943 were renamed and renumbered from 1 to about 37,[23] to distinguish them from the Schutzmannschaft auxiliary battalions recruited from local population in German-occupied areas.[16]