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, (but inexperienced), 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), plus a few of his men, use looted PPSh-41s that they captured from the attack on the mortar position early in the movie. Steiner then uses a PPSh throughout the film. Originally chambered for 7.62x25. The PPSh-41 was later adopted by the German army and designated MP41(r) if re-chambered for 9mm parabellum, or MP717(r) and issued with 7.63x25mm Mauser if left unconverted. 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 (Vadim Glowna) and Anselm (Dieter Schidor) 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.
In a very brief shot a Russian soldier is seen with a revolver. The shot is not detailed enough to properly identify the gun, but since the movie was filmed in (then) Yugoslavia, which adopted the gun even before the second world war, it is most probable that the gun is a Russian Nagant variant.
Red Army soldiers are seen manning the Russian adopted version of the Maxim machine gun, the Maxim M1910/30. In a notable instance, a close up actually allows for the observation of the weapon's cooling mechanism.
German forces are seen using the Zastava M53 which is a Yugoslavian post-war copy of the German MG42. Although the M53 has a slower rate of fire than the original MG42, in the movie due to post-editing the rate of fire is even slower: approximetly 400–600 rounds per minute which is the equivelant of a Browning M1919 Machine Gun.
In historical footage in the introduction, a Russian soldier can be seen firing the ZB26 Machine Gun. This Czech machine gun was used on the Eastern front by the German and Romanian armies and thus has most probably been captured by Russian forces.
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.
Both Russians and Germans are seen using the Russian 82-mm mortar Model 1941 (BM-41, further development of BM-37). It was utilised into the 1960's by virtually all the countries in the Red sphere of influence.
The Germans are seen with what appears to be the 2 cm Flakvierling 38.
Since the movie was filmed in former Yugoslavia it is possible the AA is a Russian based mockup.
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