 An artillery regiment (the "Artillerieregiment AR-26 "Otto Nelte"") was formed on March 17, 1971 with the mission to provide artillery support in case a war erupts and the GDR launches an offensive operation to capture West Berlin.It was put under Border Troops command to circumvent the restrictions for military forces in both parts of Berlin and was a source of constant tension between the GDR and its Soviet ally on one hand and West Germany and its western allies on the other.In the final years of its existence the German Democratic Republic sought warming up of its relationship with the Federal Republic of Germany and as one of the signs of goodwill the regiment was transferred to the Land Forces of the National People's Army on November 1, 1985(becoming the "Artillerieregiment-40") and directly subordinated to the Chief of Artillery and Rocket Forces.