United States Constabulary - Mission

Mission

The mission of the United States Constabulary was to maintain general military and civil security, to assist in the accomplishment of the objectives of the United States government in Germany, and to control the borders of the United States Zone.

The Constabulary set up a system of patrols throughout the entire area and along the borders. The territory to be patrolled had an area of over 40,000 square miles (100,000 km²) and included nearly 1,400 miles of international and interzonal boundaries, extending from Austria in the South to the British Zone in the North, and from Czechoslovakia and the Soviet Zone in the East to the Rhine River and the French Zone in the West. Approximately the area of Pennsylvania in size, the United States Zone of Occupation in Germany had similar contours, with flat lands, hills, mountains, and forests, crisscrossed by many rivers and streams. More than sixteen million German people lived in this area, and it included many cities of considerable size. The entire Zone was covered by a network of roads, while here and there were the Autobahnen—the four-lane express highways.