Here's something I jotted down at work. I would have posted it sooner, except I kept forgetting to bring it home. Anyway, the whole German "War" looks like this (I'd have to do some serious detail work before I can even call it an outline, much less a proper work):
1973: This would be when the DDR begins to move to infiltrate various groups in the BRD. They organize a bunch of protests, anti-nuclear and the like.
Also during the year, I have the West German economy take a down turn. I'm not sure how much the oil embargo hit Europe compared to America (long lines at the gas station and all). You end up with more and more unemployed and faster than Bonn can deal with.
1974: The protests get worse and more frequent, two ending in riots (Hamburg and Dussledorf). A nation-wide strike starts on May 1st. East Germany continues to expend resources to subvert the West German Left. The Left does grow thanks to continuing economic problems, and the apparent inactivity of Bonn.
1975: After seeing Saigon fall and the US do nothing to stop it, DDR plans to set in motion an insurrection against Bonn in hopes of toppling the government. Now Moscow does step in here, trying to subvert the DDR's plans. The Soviets wants a neutral Marxists government in West Germany, kind of like Yugoslavia. It'd make for a nice buffer zone.
East Germany begins to smuggle arms into the West to various cells organizing in industrial cities as well as attempting to establish themselves in rural farming villages.
1976: Rhineland riots turn violent. Protesters begin to open fire on the police. Martial law is declared, etc, etc. The Volksarmee West is "founded" (it's been in the works for a while now). At the time, it's seen as little more than a terrorist organization.
It starts out with bombings and assassinations, but grows to open rebellion in some states.
1977: Carter announces that he won't send soldiers into another Vietnam. That being said on TV, he does quietly authorize the USAFE to aid the BRD. There is a lot of concern from other NATO members from American inactivity. I'm not sure exactly what the North Atlantic Treaty says about internal threats, so I'm using that this isn't a foreign invasion as the American excuse to its allies.
1978: As the Insurrection grows, motions in the UN are started for a UN peacekeeping force. The USSR uses its veto to kill that idea.
Actual fighting in 1977 and 1978 isn't all that thought out yet, except one big thing.
The Oktoberfest Offensive (please, not jokes abouts liberating beer) sees the VAW launch mutliple offenisives against West Germany's largest cities. The offensive sees the Fall of Munich, and people's tribunals and all those executions in the Olympic stadium. The VAW also has gotten its hands on its own aircraft and Bavaria is declared a no-fly zone. These are really piloted by East German pilots.
1979: The Siege of Ramstein AFB sparks outrage in America as the public demands action. The VAW being dumb enough to attack an American faclity gives the USAE the excuse to throw its own weight into the game. France also sends in the French Foreign Legion.
West German F-104s shoot down a Hungarian air liner (at Tu-154) that strayed into the no-fly zone. Why? Many of the VAW's fighters evade NATO fighters by crossing into East Germany. This Tupolev was on the general same heading. It was all a navigational error, but it sparks outrage in the East.
In 1979, solid evidence that East German soldiers were aiding the VAW is discovered and the whole thing threatens to spiral out of control. The superpowers meet in Kopenhagen for a summit. It's here that Carter proposes that both Germanies should become neutral and that the superpowers should remove their forces from them, sort of a superpower demilitarization. Breznev rejects the idea.
Now at this point, I ran out of room on my scrap paper and haven't gone past this point. Do try to keep in mind I jotted this down a piece at a time while working, so it's not as good as it could be.