briefly ordered to return to Döberitz on 24 April before returning west again on 3 May. World War II World War II in Europe had begun on Friday 1 September 1939 when German forces invaded Poland. During the campaign against France, II. Gruppe, as a subordinated unit to JG 51 was controlled by Jagdfliegerführer 2, Oberst Kurt-Bertram von Döring, and was deployed on the right flank of Luftflotte 2 (Air Fleet 2), supporting the attack of Army Group B against the Netherlands. On 10 May, the day the Wehrmacht launched the attack, 4. Staffel was located in Wesel and flew missions to Rotterdam. Following the Armistice of 22 June 1940, II. Gruppe was sent to Wunstorf near Hanover for replenishment. On 8 July, the Gruppe began its relocation west again, with 4. Staffel arriving in Leeuwarden on 11 July. Schulz claimed his first victory on 31 August 1940 over a Royal Air Force (RAF) Supermarine Spitfire fighter in the vicinity of Dover. On 7 September, 4. Staffel was placed under the command of Staffelkapitän (squadron leader) Oberleutnant Gustav Rödel. On 28 October, Schulz claimed his fourth overall and last aerial victory of 1940. On a fighter escort mission to London, he shot down a Spitfire in the vicinity of Gravesend. On 5 November, II. Gruppe was withdrawn from combat operations on the English Channel, relocating to Detmold on 9 November. Schulz also participated in the brief Balkan Campaign in April 1941, scoring two victories, flying out of airbases in Bulgaria then Greece. His unit, as with most of the Luftwaffe, was then withdrawn for the imminent invasion of Russia. Despite II./JG 27's very brief 9-day participation in Operation Barbarossa, he scored three victories. Two of these were some of the 25 bombers shot down over Vilnius by II./JG 27 on 25 June, however most of that short time the Gruppe was tasked with fighter-bomber missions. North Africa Following the withdrawal from the Eastern Front, II. Gruppe arrived in Döberitz on 24 July 1941. The entire personnel then went on vacation, returning to Döberitz on 18 August. Over the next three weeks, the Gruppe converted to the Bf 109 F-4 fighter. Relocation to the North African Theater began on 7 September, with 4. Staffel transferring south on 16 September and was based at an airfield in Ain el Gazala. There, II. Gruppe joined I. Gruppe of JG 27 which was already