Border guards of the inner German border
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, a lightly armed constabulary force responsible for border security. It was disbanded in 1952 after policing duties were transferred to the German authorities. In its place, two dedicated armoured cavalry regiments were assigned to provide a permanent border defence. The 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment based at Nuremberg and the 14th Armored Cavalry Regiment based at Fulda– later replaced by the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment – were tasked with monitoring the border using observation posts, ground and air patrols, countering border intrusions and gathering intelligence on Warsaw Pact activities. Unlike their East German counterparts, U.S. soldiers did not stay for more than 30 days on the border, though they carried out regular patrols around the clock using foot and helicopter patrols. They also used a variety of technical measures such as ground surveillance radars to monitor Warsaw Pact troop movements across the border. A rapid reaction force was on constant duty further behind the border to provide backup in an emergency. The American presence on the border provoked political controversy in Germany. During the 1960s the state of Hesse refused to grant U.S. forces land rights to its observation points or allow them to install paved access roads, electricity or telephone lines. It took the view that since there was no legally recognised border, there was no legal reason for their military observation posts to be built along it. By the 1980s the American border presence had become the target of peace activists, who in 1984 blockaded the U.S. Observation Post Alpha with a human chain. The U.S. withdrew from the inner German border in 1991.
Hessian (soldier)
About 30,000 Germans served in the Americas, and, after the war ended in 1783, some 17,313 returned to their German homelands. Of the 12,526 who did not return, about 7,700 had died. Some 1,200 were killed in action, and 6,354 died from illness or accidents, mostly the former. Approximately 5,000 German troops settled in North America, either the United States or Canada. Four thousand five hundred of them, mainly press-ganged or conscripted in their countries of origin, settled in the United States.Cavalry:
The First Dragon Cavalry Regiment (1804-1812, red jacket)
Change to the First Light Dragon Cavalry Regiment (1812-1816, blue jacket);
The Second Dragon Cavalry Regiment (1805-1812, red jacket)
Change to the Second Light Dragon Cavalry Regiment (1812-1816, blue jacket);
First Hurricane Regiment;
Second Hurricane Regiment;
The Third Hurricane Regiment;
Infantry:
First Light Infantry Battalion;
Second Light Infantry Battalion;
First formation infantry battalion;
Second Infantry Battalion;
Third formation infantry battalion;
Fourth Formation Infantry Battalion;
Fifth formation infantry battalion;
Sixth formation infantry battalion;
The seventh formation infantry battalion;
Eighth formation infantry battalion;
Artillery and engineers:
The British and German artillery had two artillery companies and three infantry companies.
King of England and German engineers;
These troops were stationed at sea in Bexhill on Sea and Weymouth, and some later went to Ireland.