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The military liaison missions arose from reciprocal agreements formed between the Western allied nations (the United States, the United Kingdom and France) and the
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
, shortly after the end of the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. The missions were active from 1946 until 1990. The agreements between the allied nations and the Soviet Union permitted the deployment of small numbers of
military intelligence Military intelligence is a military discipline that uses information collection and analysis List of intelligence gathering disciplines, approaches to provide guidance and direction to assist Commanding officer, commanders in decision making pr ...
personnel – together with associated support staff – in each other's territory in Germany, ostensibly for the purposes of monitoring and furthering better relationships between the Soviet and Western occupation forces. The British, French and American missions matched the size of the counterpart Soviet missions into West Germany (the nominal post-war British, French and American zones of occupations). The MLMs also played an intelligence-gathering role. The MLM teams were based in West Berlin but started their "tours" from the national mission houses in
Potsdam Potsdam () is the capital and largest city of the Germany, German States of Germany, state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the Havel, River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of B ...
in matte-olive-drab heavy cars. The Mission teams on a tour frequently comprised one officer accompanied by an NCO and a driver. The missions persisted throughout the Cold War period and ended in 1990, just prior to
German reunification German reunification () was the process of re-establishing Germany as a single sovereign state, which began on 9 November 1989 and culminated on 3 October 1990 with the dissolution of the East Germany, German Democratic Republic and the int ...
. The missions were: * British Commanders'-in-Chief Mission to the Soviet Forces in Germany (
BRIXMIS The British Commanders'-in-Chief Mission to the Soviet Forces in Germany (BRIXMIS) was a Military liaison missions, military liaison mission which operated behind the Iron Curtain in East Germany during the Cold War. BRIXMIS existed from 1946 †...
); * ''La Mission Militaire Française de Liaison'' (MMFL); * U.S. Military Liaison Mission (USMLM); * and their reciprocal Soviet missions (SOXMIS/SMLM). The British–Soviet missions were the first to be established (16 September 1946), under the terms of the Robertson–Malinin Agreement (the respective commanders-in-chief). It also had the largest contingent of personnel, with 31 accredited team members. Later agreements with the US (Huebner–Malinin, March 1947) and France (Noiret–Malinin, April 1947) had significantly fewer permitted personnel, possibly because the Allied powers did not want large Soviet missions operating in their zones and vice versa. The Allied liaison missions, having quasi- diplomatic status, were relatively free to roam around
East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...
, save for specifically designated permanent and temporary restricted areas. They were largely 'untouchable' either by the law or military personnel. However, a small number of team members were injured or killed in accidents or 'incidents', which gave rise to significant military and political tensions. Little is publicly documented about the Soviet missions. Although not widely known to the general public, the MLMs played a significant intelligence-gathering role during the
Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...
. They also had a significant role in confirming that preparations for offensive action were not under way, thus reducing tension. Probably the most notable incident involving the American MLM was the death of Major Arthur D. Nicholson, a U.S. MLM Tour Officer. He was killed on March 23, 1985, shot by Soviet Army Sergeant Aleksandr Ryabtsev, and was considered the last American casualty of the Cold War, and the only U.S. MLM Officer to die in the course of duty, though other British and French tour personnel had died earlier. After the
Berlin Wall The Berlin Wall (, ) was a guarded concrete Separation barrier, barrier that encircled West Berlin from 1961 to 1989, separating it from East Berlin and the East Germany, German Democratic Republic (GDR; East Germany). Construction of the B ...
fell in 1989, Nicholson's death was honored on the floor of both houses of the
United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...
, with a speech that was read into the official record.http://www.reagan.utexas.edu/archives/speeches/1985/42385d.htm


See also

* Potsdam Conference


References

* * * * *


External links



Coldwarspies.com We Kept the Cold War Cool
Western Allies Berlin site

Allied MLM @ Parallel History Project

Allied Museum Berlin

Oral histories of the Allies Military liaison missions from the Cold War Conversations podcast

BRIXMIS Association

BRIXMIS display
at the Military Intelligence Museum, Chicksands.
MMFL Association

USMLM Association

History of the USMLM

USMLM research (honors thesis) by Anya Vodopyanov Part 1
an
Part 2

Lecture
by Stephen V. Hoyt, ''Cold War Pioneers: The U.S. Military Liaison Mission, 1947–1990''.
Photos taken in East Germany while serving with USMLM
{{Authority control Espionage Surveillance Military history of East Germany Military units and formations established in 1946 Military units and formations disestablished in 1990 Foreign relations of the Soviet Union Soviet Union–United States relations Cold War Military diplomacy 1946 establishments in Germany 1990 disestablishments in Germany