After the German invasion of the Soviet Union (Operation Barbarossa), the SS cavalry regiments, along with the 1 SS Infantry Brigade were assigned to "pacify" what was seen as the main trouble spots in the occupied territories. On 19 July 1941, the SS cavalry regiments were transferred to the general command of HSSPF Erich von dem Bach-Zelewski for action in the area of the Pripet marsh, a large area of land that covered parts of Belorussia and the Northern Ukraine. Thereafter, the regiments combined to become the SS Cavalry Brigade.