On 19 July 1941, by order of Himmler, the 1st and 2nd SS Cavalry Regiments were assigned to the general command of Higher SS and Police Leader (HSSPF) Erich von dem Bach-Zalewski. Combined into the SS Cavalry Brigade under the command of Hermann Fegelein, they were to take part in the action in the area of the Pripet marshes, a large area of land that covered parts of Belorussia and the Northern Ukraine. This action became known as the "Pripyat swamps" punitive operation (German: "Pripiatsee"); it was conducted by the combined SS and Wehrmacht forces in July and August 1941 as the "systematic combing" of the area for Jews, 'partisans' and Red Army stragglers.