An attempt has been made to describe the military events of the war with exactitude, albeit concisely, so as to facilitate a critical appraisal of them. Numerous maps, tables, and statistics are also provided for this purpose.

List of illustrations; List of diagrams; List of maps; Notes on the authors; Note on the translation; Abbreviations; Glossary of German terms; Introduction; Bernd Stegemann: Part I. Politics and warfare in the first phase of the German offensive; Klaus A. Maier & Bernd Stegemann: Part II. Action plans and situation assessments of Luftwaffe and navy before the outbreak of war; Horst Rohde: Part III. Hitler's first blitzkrieg and its consequences for North-eastern Europe; Bernd Stegemann: Part IV. The first phase of the war at sea up to the Spring of 1940; Klaus A. Maier & Bernd Stegemann: Securing the Northern flank of Europe; Hans Umbreit: Part VI. The battle for hegemony in Western Europe; Klaus A. Maier: Part VII. The operational air war until the Battle of Britain; Bernd Stegemann: Part VIII. The second phase of the war at sea (until the Spring of 1941); Hans Umbreit & Klaus A. Maier: Part IX. Direct strategy against Britain; Conclusion; Bibliography; Index of persons