form the division in the neighbouring Bácska () region annexed by Hungary instead of Bosnia. Sauberzweig believed that if the division was raised in the NDH, the Ustaše would undermine the morale of the recruits. The new division was named Kama after a small dagger used by Balkan shepherds. Orders were given to the 13th SS Division to provide a cadre for the new division, and SS Standartenführer (Colonel) Helmuth Raithel, a regimental commander from the 13th SS Division, was appointed as the new division's commanding officer. The formation of the division was delayed by Operation Vollmond to which the 13th SS Division was heavily committed, so formation did not begin until 19 June. On 21 June, Himmler promoted Sauberzweig to SS Gruppenführer and Generalleutnant of Waffen-SS (major general) and appointed him to command the Bosnian corps, which was given the title IX Waffen Mountain Corps of the SS (Croatian). The corps was to form at Bácsalmás in southern Hungary, where the 18th SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Division Horst Wessel was deployed. Beginning on 23 June, 54 officers, 187 non-commissioned officers (NCOs) and 1,137 enlisted men of the 13th SS Division that had been selected for transfer to the 23rd SS Division Kama were assembled in Bošnjaci in Posavina County of the NDH, and they were moved into Bácska on 15 July. They included three NCOs from every company of the 13th SS Division, and one cavalry squadron, one battery from each of its artillery battalions, as well as specialist troops. German officers and NCOs were also provided by Waffen-SS replacement units. The divisional area lay along the Franzen Canal, with garrisons in Szenttamás () and Kúla () and on either side of the line Zombor-Verbász (). The 10,000 men for a full-strength division were to be obtained from volunteers, from Muslim conscripts born in 1926 and 1927 (with some exceptions), and if necessary, from the various Muslim militias in the NDH. The conscripts were subjected to the draft by the NDH government then transferred to German command along with the others, who were then transported to Waffen-SS recruiting depots at Zombor and Bošnjaci. These men were to report by 15 September 1944, but in mid-August, Waffen-SS recruiting officer SS Obergruppenführer (Lieutenant General) Gottlob Berger reported to Himmler that there would be insufficient reliable Muslim men available, and Catholic Croats would also have to be accepted into the 23rd SS Division.