Siegfried Lautsch, Lieutenant Colonel (ret.) of the Bundeswehr, was responsible for operational planning for the 5th Army in case of emergency during his earlier service in the NVA as head of the operational department at the command of Military District V (Neubrandenburg). His fact-based book provides the first insight into the operational-strategic thinking, leadership structures, organization and execution of secret planning, as well as the principles of employing the branches and services of the NVA's ground forces in war. As an insider, he analyzes possible war scenarios from the years 1983, 1985, and 1988 within the framework of the overall planning of the 1st Front (Group of Soviet Forces in Germany/Western Group of Forces). He also highlights the changes in the operational-strategic thinking of the leadership in the Warsaw Pact armed forces. The eye-catching volume concludes.