This volume takes the reader from the latest political decisions to the sites of military confrontations. The deployment of the Condor Legion in the Spanish Civil War and the campaign in Poland marked the beginning of military events in the first year of the war. This is followed by operations at sea and in the air. It recalls the daring journey of Günter Prien at Scapa Flow as well as the death struggle of the Admiral Graf Spee in the La Plata estuary. The Russo-Finnish Winter War, the first air battle over the German Bight, and the preparations for attacks in the West round out this work and provide a glimpse into the war year 1940.