Following World War II Germany was occupied by the victorious Allies and a separate state – the German Democratic Republic (German: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, DDR; commonly in English, East Germany) – emerged in the Soviet-held eastern part of the country.

The name Vorwärts was used in East Germany by those clubs associated with the armed forces, paramilitary organizations, and police.

They spent five seasons in third-tier play before advancing to the DDR-Liga (II) through a promotion playoff following a divisional title win in 1959.

The Cottbus side missed promotion to first-division play when they finished second to Lok Stendal in 1963.

They became a DDR-Liga fixture spending 14 seasons in second-tier play until slipping to the Bezirksliga after a 10th-place finish in 1974.