10 Average Questions about Cross of Iron

Answer: Willi Heinrich

'The Willing Flesh' had been first published in 1956. It was based on Heinrich's own experiences as a soldier on the Eastern Front in World War Two.

Director Sam Peckinpah accepted an offer from German producer Wolf Hartwig to direct a film version. In doing so, Peckinpah turned down offers from Dino Di Laurentiis to direct 'King Kong' and from Warner Bros. to direct 'Superman', but he had always been attracted by the idea of making a war movie.

Answer: James Mason and David Warner

Apart from James Mason, David Warner and the American James Coburn (who played the lead role of Unteroffizier Steiner), the rest of the cast were a mix of actors from Central Europe who were generally little known to an English language audience. The backing for the project came from Germany, Yugoslavia and Britain and it was filmed in Yugoslavia with up to 600 extras supplied by the Yugoslav army.

It was unusual for an English language film to have Germans as its main protagonists but, from his success in roles in films that had attempted it previously ('The Desert Fox' and 'The Blue Max') James Mason's presence was regarded as essential to woo American and British audiences at the Box Office.

Answer: Leutnant Meyer

Meyer, played by Yugoslav actor Igor Galo, was the only officer who showed his men respect and treated them as equals. They held a birthday party in his honour but, tragically, he died shortly after when he led a successful counter-attack.

Answer: Hauptmann Stransky

Hauptmann Stransky (played by Swiss actor Maximilian Schell) was a typical Prussian officer who had requested a transfer to the Russian Front out of the frustration that his military career, up until then, had been far away from the fighting. He regarded it as a matter of family honour that he prove himself in battle and had the medal to show for it - The Iron Cross. Once faced with the reality of war and the harsh conditions of the Russian Front, however, he proved to be cowardly and hid behind his rank and the rule book.

Answer: A captured enemy boy soldier

The platoon captured a Russian boy soldier, Michail (played by Yugoslav actor Slavko Stimac), who they looked after in their dugout. Stransky ordered Steiner to, "dispose of him" - an order which Steiner refused to carry out. This was another cause of friction in their relationship. The boy was killed accidentally by his own side, shortly after Steiner released him.

Answer: The soldier had no hands

The general had backed away from shaking Steiner's hand, put off possibly by his challenging stare and chestful of decorations. His embarrassment was completed, however, by his attempt to shake hands with a man who had had them blown off. Nevertheless, the general insisted that 65% of the men should be returned to active duty within three days.

Answer: He discharged himself and returned to the front.

While at the hospital, Steiner had developed a relationship with a nurse, Eva (played by Austrian actress Senta Berger). They had a deep discussion about the futility of war but Steiner found that his bond with his comrades was too strong to resist, even though his wounds were serious enough for him to remain in hospital.

As he departed, Eva asserted, "Do you love the war so much? Or are you afraid of what you're going to be without it?"

Answer: The Iron Cross

The Iron Cross (Das Eiserne Kreuz) was established as a military honour by King Friedrich Wilhelm III of Prussia in 1813, during The Napoleonic Wars. It was resurrected by Bismarck during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71 and re-established by Kaiser Wilhelm II at the beginning of World War One.

Probably its most famous recipient was Adolf Hitler, who always wore it on the various uniforms he adopted. As an infantryman in WWI he was awarded The Iron Cross (2nd Class) in December 1914 for rescuing a wounded officer. In 1918 he was awarded The Iron Cross (1st Class) for single-handedly capturing a squad of French soldiers in No Man's Land.

After World War Two, German veterans were permitted to continue to wear the medal, but the swastika clasp was prohibited.

Answer: They were murdered by female enemy prisoners.

The platoon captured a number of Russian women soldiers at a farmhouse. Despite Steiner's warnings, too many of the men tried to 'fraternise' with the prisoners, and dropped their guard - with fatal results for Dietz and Zoll.

During World War Two, the Soviet army was unusual in deploying women soldiers in combat units.

Answer: Steiner knew he had lied to win The Iron Cross.

Steiner had been insubordinate and disrespectful towards Stransky from the beginning, since he recognised him to be the epitome of the officer class that he despised. In his attempt to win The Iron Cross, Stransky had filed a false report in which he claimed that he had led a successful counter-attack - the action that Leutnant Meyer had led while Stransky cowered in the bunker. Steiner refused to verify the report and Stransky was worried that he might be found out if Steiner lived to tell the tale.

When the Russians attacked in overwhelming numbers, Stransky deliberately did not pass on the order to Steiner and his men to retreat, and when those who survived tried to return through enemy lines, he ordered machine gunners to fire on them. But he still couldn't kill Steiner!