in july 1941, rex announced that it would raise a unit of volunteers of its own, dubbed the walloon legion ("légion wallonie"). the unit would form part of the wehrmacht because walloons were not considered sufficiently "germanic" by nazi racial theorists to enlist in the waffen-ss. recruitment initially met with little success, leading degrelle personally to volunteer for the unit as a private. in total, some 850 men (mostly rexist cadres) had volunteered by august 1941, bringing the unit up to the strength of an infantry battalion. 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.