Cross of Iron is a 1977 WWII film directed by Sam Peckinpah and stars James Coburn, Maximilian Schell, and James Mason. The film tells the story of a disgruntled yet highly decorated German Sergeant (Coburn), and his reconnaissance platoon that is fighting on the Kuban Bridgehead, Soviet Union. All is going as well as can be expected during a retreat until a zealous Captain turns up, so jealous of Steiner's awards that he sets about a vendetta to rid himself of Steiner and at the same time win the coveted Iron Cross.
The following weapons were used in the film Cross of Iron:
Steiner (James Coburn), as well as many of the men he is commanding, use looted PPSh-41's in the attack on a mortar position early in the movie. Steiner then uses it throughout the film. Originally chambered for 7.62x25. The PPSh-41 was later adopted by the German army & renamed the MP717(r) and re-chambered for 9mm parabellum. It should be noted that the drum magazine could not be used with the 9mm conversion, so Steiner's has to be in the original caliber.
MP40's are carried by most of Steiner's platoon before the attack on the mortar position, though afterward only Privates Kern and Anselm continue to use it. It is also used by many of the German soldiers seen throughout the film including Colonel Brandt (James Mason) and Captain Stransky (Maximilian Schell). Stransky tries to use one in the finale but demonstrates his incompetence to Steiner when he cannot reload it.
In the beginning sequence a Mosin Nagant M91/30 sniper rifle is picked up by Private Maag (Burkhard Driest) from a dead Russian soldier, Maag continues to use it for the rest of the film until he pretends to be a Soviet prisoner.
Sergeant (Feldwebel) Steiner carries a Luger P08 pistol as his sidearm throughout the movie. It is most notably seen when he drops his webbing and the Russian child soldier (Slavko Štimac) takes it out of it's holster as nobody watches but decides to not use it.
Red Army soldiers are seen manning the Russian adopted version of the Maxim machine gun. In a notable instance, a close up actually allows for the observation of the weapon's cooling mechanism.
Both the Germans and the Soviets use a Zis-3 76mm anti-tank gun during the assault on the factory. The movie was filmed in Yugoslavia and used old army equipment including Soviet type tanks, guns and mortars.
Another Zis-3 is seen towed by a Soviet truck.
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