In the autumn of 1942, Kaminski ordered the compulsory draft into the militia of all able-bodied men. Its units were reinforced with the "volunteers" drafted from Soviet POWs at the nearest Nazi concentration camps. Kaminski ordered the gathering of Soviet tanks and armored cars abandoned in 1941 due to the lack of fuel or minor mechanical failures – by November 1942, his unit has in possession at least two BT-7 tanks and one 76 mm artillery gun. Due to the lack of uniforms and boots (some units were barefoot), the Germans provided Kaminski's brigade with used uniforms: these were sufficient for only four battalions.