In total, some 850 men (mostly Rexist cadres) had volunteered by August 1941, bringing the unit up to the strength of an infantry battalion.[5] Officially designated as Infantry Battalion 373 (Infanterie Bataillon 373), it was sent for training in Meseritz, Germany. As part of Degrelle's ideal of an expanded Burgundian-style Belgium, the unit adopted the Burgundian cross as its insignia.