10 Gut-Wrenching Moments In War Films

World War II films usually center around allied forces and the triumph over evil, but rarely are they ever seen from the losing side and humanized. Sam Peckinpah's anti-war film Cross Of Iron does just that. Set from the perspective of the Nazi's losing influence on the Russian front, cynical protagonist Steiner leads his men through conflict after conflict - disillusioned in the bureaucracy of war and politics yet tethered to his men and knowing nothing else.

In one particular scene in the film, Steiner and his team are left behind after his commander purposefully neglects to tell him to retreat after Steiner denies him a recommendation for obtaining the cross of iron for valor he never earned. To make matters worse, T-34 tanks encroach across the trenches with Russian soldiers firing wildly.

Overwhelmingly outnumbered, the men hide for cover as they claw their way out of being massacred and come face to face with the realization that they might not survive this encounter. The scene sums up personal politics of war, the vanity and emptiness of valor, and the futility of war.

Steiner has seen tragedy and loss only to be compensated with, as he puts it, "a piece of wood." To him, its significance means nothing. The constant death permeating around him and lack of humanity fermented disdain towards his superiors. What good is honor or prestige when the people you care for die without cause or reason knowing he's on the wrong side of history fighting for an unworthy cause.