Siegfried Lautsch, Lieutenant Colonel (ret.) of the Bundeswehr, was during his earlier service in the NVA the head of the operational department at the command of Military District V (Neubrandenburg), responsible for the deployment planning of the 5th Army in case of an emergency. His fact-based book provides a first insight into the operational-strategic thinking, the command structures, the organization and execution of secret planning, as well as the principles of the deployment of 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 illustrates the changes in operational-strategic thinking among the leadership of the Warsaw Pact armed forces. The sensational volume concludes.