continued and the pool of Rexist members fell, the volunteers became "largely non-political 'adventurers' or desperate men", often drawn from the urban working class and the unemployed. The Legion's record in combat, however, was widely exploited in propaganda and increased Degrelle's legitimacy in the eyes of the German leadership, especially Heinrich Himmler who commanded the SS. In the fighting between February and May 1942, Degrelle was able to rise rapidly through the ranks to Leutnant and received numerous decorations including the Iron Cross. In subsequent months, he received further plaudits and became the only foreign volunteer to be decorated with the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves. In the Waffen-SS, 1943–45 In late 1942, Himmler declared the Walloons to be a Germanic race, paving the way for the unit's incorporation into the Waffen-SS on 1 June 1943. The Walloon Legion was re-organised into a brigade-sized unit of 2,000 men, known as the SS Assault Brigade Wallonia (SS-Sturmbrigade Wallonien). As part of the transfer, the links between the unit and Rex were cut. The pre-existing structure of welfare organisations set up by Rex in German-occupied Belgium such as Legionary Solidarity (Solidarité légionnaire) were disbanded and replaced by a new autonomous entity known as National Socialist Welfare (Entre'aide Nationale-Socialiste). Degrelle himself spent much of 1943 on a publicity tour of Germany and Belgium. In November 1943, the new SS-Sturmbrigade Wallonia was deployed for the first time to Ukraine in response to the Soviet Dnieper–Carpathian Offensive. There, the brigade fought as part of the SS Division Wiking in the Korsun–Cherkassy Pocket in February 1944 and suffered 70 percent casualties. By the end of the engagement, the effective strength of the unit had been reduced from 2,000 to 632. Among those killed was the unit's commander . A detachment also fought at the Tannenberg Line in Estonia in June 1944, also suffering heavy losses. Degrelle, however, was widely celebrated for his role in the battle at Cherkassy, becoming "the poster boy for all European collaborators" and being featured in Wehrmacht's Signal magazine. The remnants of the unit returned to Belgium where parades were held in Brussels and Charleroi in April 1944. Ahead of its return, largely to encourage more enlistments, the unit was even loaned armoured vehicles by other German units to make it seem more prestigious. Following Lippert's death, Degrelle was promoted to rank of SS-Sturmbannführer, and took command of