These requests were not fulfilled.[13][22] Nevertheless, in April 1944, Himmler ordered the establishment of the new Albanian volunteer division that Hitler had authorised.[11] It was subsequently named after the medieval Albanian warrior Skanderbeg.[23] By this point, the Germans and some members of the Albanian puppet government believed that about 50,000 ethnic Albanians could be recruited to join the Waffen-SS.[24] The Germans had initially envisioned a force of 10,000–12,000 men for the Albanian SS division.[18] Himmler saw the Muslim Albanians as a potential source of manpower in Germany's war against the Yugoslav Partisans,[11] who faced significant difficulties in recruiting Kosovo Albanians to join their ranks.[8][10]