Cross of Iron
Scene of Battle: The Eastern Front, World War Two

Behind Enemy Lines: Sam Peckinpah's at times brutal 1977 film starring James Coburn and James Mason is based on the 1956 novel by Willi Heinrich, who himself fought against the Russians on the Eastern Front. The relationships between men thrown together in combat is a common theme of the war film, Cross of Iron explores this from the point of view of German soldiers as the tide of the conflict begins to turn against them.

Triva: Willi Heinrich was wounded five times in the battles on the Eastern Front. He fought in the 101st Jäger Division, which suffered 700% casualities during the course of the War.