Deployed along or to?

Question

Soldiers were deployed along or to the boarder of the country.

In the above sentence, should I use deployed along or to? What difference does each preposition make?

Answer 1

Either choice is correct and idiomatic. As you guessed, the meaning is different. A picture is worth a thousand words:

Answer 2

• "To" suggests that they were all sent to the same location, somewhere on the coast.

• "Along" would suggest that the soldiers were strategically placed to cover the whole length of the border.

PS It's spelled "border" - a "boarder" is someone who lives in your spare room.