Bey led the 4th Destroyer Flotilla, consisting of the destroyers Z11 "Bernd von Arnim", Z12 "Erich Giese" and Z13 "Erich Koellner", as part of "Kommodore" Friedrich Bonte's force that carried General Eduard Dietl's mountain troops for the occupation of Narvik during the German invasion of Norway on 9 April 1940. In the following Battles of Narvik on 10 April and 13 April, Bey distinguished himself by leading a small group of destroyers in a brave though doomed action against a superior Royal Navy force that included the battleship .