Editing Inner German border (section)

===Western Allies===
{{multiple image
| align    = right
| image1   = Us army bundesgrenzschutz.jpg
| width1   = 208
| alt1     = Group of three United States soldiers, one armed with a rifle, and two West German Bundesgrenzschutz officers standing by two vehicles parked on a narrow asphalted road in a rolling landscape with fields and hills visible behind them.
| caption1 = United States Army personnel meet with ''Bundesgrenzschutz'' officers, 1979.
| image2   = British army inner german border.jpg
| alt2     = Two British soldiers carrying rifles standing behind a pair of Land-Rover vehicles, one of which has a "British Frontier Service" plate. Behind them is a high mesh fence, behind which is a tall watchtower with an octagonal cabin at its top.
| width2   = 212
| caption2 = Joint British Army{{snd}}British Frontier Service patrol near Helmstedt, early 1970s
}}
The [[British Army]] conducted only relatively infrequent patrols along its sector of the inner German border, principally for training purposes and symbolic value. By the 1970s it was carrying out only one patrol a month, only rarely using helicopters or ground surveillance radar and erecting no permanent observation posts. The British border zone was divided into two sectors covering a total distance of about {{convert|650|km|mi}} along the border.<ref>[[#Stacy|Stacy (1984)]], pp. 263–64.</ref> Unlike the Americans, the British did not assign specific units to border duty but rotated the task between the divisions of the [[British Army of the Rhine]].<ref>[[#Shears|Shears (1970)]], p. 100.</ref>

The border was also patrolled in the British sector by the [[British Frontier Service]], the smallest of the Western border surveillance organisations. Its personnel served as a liaison between British military and political interests and the German agencies on the border.<ref>[[#Stacy|Stacy (1984)]], pp. 261–263.</ref> The BFS was disbanded in 1991 following Germany's reunification.<ref>"Grenzbewacher West". [[#Zonengrenze-Museum|Zonengrenze-Museum]], Helmstedt</ref>

The [[United States Army]] maintained a substantial and continuous military presence at the inner German border throughout the entire period from 1945 to after the end of the Cold War. Regular American soldiers manned the border from the end of the war until they were replaced in 1946 by the [[United States Constabulary]],<ref>[[#Stacy|Stacy (1984)]], p. 22.</ref> which was disbanded in 1952 after policing duties were transferred to the German authorities. It was replaced by two dedicated [[List of US Army armored cavalry regiments|armoured cavalry regiments]] assigned to provide a permanent defence.<ref>[[#Stacy|Stacy (1984)]], pp. 62–63.</ref> The [[2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment]] based at [[Nuremberg]] and the [[14th Armored Cavalry Regiment]] based at [[Fulda]]&nbsp;– later replaced by the [[11th Armored Cavalry Regiment]]&nbsp;– monitored the border using observation posts, ground and air patrols, countering intrusions and gathering intelligence on Warsaw Pact activities.<ref>[[#Shears|Shears (1970)]], pp. 88, 98–99.</ref>