First appearing in late 1941 as auxiliary police, the unit initially numbered 200 personnel. By mid-1943 its size had increased to 10,000-12,000 men, equipped with captured Soviet tanks and artillery.[1] Bronislav Kaminski, the unit's leader, named it the Russian National Liberation Army (Russian: Русская освободительная народная армия (РОНА), romanized: Russkaya Osvoboditelnaya Narodnaya Armiya, (RONA)).