German commander Hauptmann Stransky places a squad in extreme danger after Sergeant Rolf Steiner refuses to lie for him.

In 1943, on the Russian front, decorated leader Rolf Steiner (James Coburn) is promoted to Sergeant after another successful mission. Meanwhile, upper-class arrogant Prussian Captain Hauptmann Stransky (Maximilian Schell) is assigned as the new commander of his squad. After a bloody battle of Steiner's squad against the Russian troops led by the brave Lieutenant Meyer (Igor Galo), who dies in combat, the coward Stransky claims that he led his squad against the Russian and requests to be awarded with the Iron Cross to satisfy his personal ambition together with that of his aristocratic family. Stransky gives the names of Steiner and of the homosexual Lieutenant Triebig (Roger Fritz) as witnesses of his accomplishment, but Steiner, who has problems with the Army's chain of command and with Stransky's arrogance, refuses to participate in the fraud. When Colonel Brandt (James Mason) gives the order to leave the position in the front, Stransky does not retransmit the order to Steiner's squad, and they are left alone, surrounded by the enemy and have to fight to survive.—Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

1943. Stalingrad has fallen and the German Army is being pushed back on the Eastern Front. Nowhere is the situation more dire for the Germans than at the Kuban Bridgehead/Taman Peninsula. Here we see the war through the eyes of a platoon of German reconnaissance troops. Their senior N.C.O. is grizzled, resourceful veteran Corporal Steiner (James Coburn). He is unconventional, insubordinate, and irreverent, but the regiment's commander, Colonel Brandt (James Mason), tolerates this as he gets results. However, his company has a new commanding officer, the inexperienced Captain Hauptmann Stransky (Maximilian Schell), a by-the-book, authoritarian aristocrat; he and Steiner are bound to clash. Also, Stransky is obsessed with winning the Iron Cross.—grantss

1943, a short time after Stalingrad: German troops on the Taman Peninsula are retreating towards Crimea. The ambitious and arrogant Captain Stransky, an aristocrat who had himself transferred from Biarritz to the Eastern Front because "capable men are needed here", presents himself to regimental commander Brandt. At the same time, Sergeant Steiner, an unconventional man who is popular with his men, returns from a patrol with his shock troop. They have come across a Soviet post and killed all the Red Army soldiers - with the exception of one adolescent whom they have taken prisoner. Stransky orders Steiner to shoot him - another officer saves the day, but it is the beginning of their enmity. When Stransky receives the order to launch a counter-offensive, he cowardly retreats to his bunker and sends the young lieutenant Meyer forward, who is killed in the process. Steiner is wounded. The Red Army is beaten back for the time being. Stransky pretends to have led the counter-offensive himself and proposes himself for the Iron Cross. He blackmails a young officer with his homosexuality so that he will confirm his version. And Steiner, after returning from the military hospital, is also put under pressure by Stransky. But Steiner, asked by Colonel Brandt to testify, asks for time to think things over. Fearing that Steiner might convict him of false testimony and cowardice, Stransky sends Steiner's platoon on a suicide mission .

Shortly after Stalingrad fell (1943), the situation looks desperate for German troops retreating towards Crimea. The ambitious and arrogant Captain Stransky, a Prussian aristocrat who requested a transfer from Biarritz to the Eastern Front because "capable men are needed here", presents himself to regimental commander Brandt before assuming his post at an artillery-exposed trenches camp on the Taman Peninsula. At the same time, cynical corporal Steiner, an unconventional man who is popular with his men and was awarded the Iron Cross for bravery, returns from a patrol with his shock troop. Passing a Soviet post they killed all the Red Army soldiers, only one adolescent they have taken prisoner, but Stransky orders Steiner to shoot him - another officer saves the day. When Stransky receives the order to counter-attack, he cowardly retreats to his bunker and sends the young lieutenant Meyer forward, who is killed in the process. Steiner is wounded and promoted sergeant, which he snuffs at. The Red Army is beaten back for the time being. Stransky pretends to have led the counter-offensive himself and proposes himself for the Iron Cross, blackmailing lieutenant Triebig with his homosexuality to attest his 'heroism'. Steiner got badly wounded, after returning from the military hospital, sniffing a home leave, is pressure by Stransky, who offers a bribe, as second false witness. But Steiner, consulted by Colonel Brandt to testify, asks for time to think things over, as the truth could see poor Triebig court-martialed. Fearing that Steiner might convict him of false testimony and cowardice, Stransky sends Steiner's platoon on a suicide mission, but he pulls off another miracle, except for men who deal badly with a female Soviet unit they capture and fail to execute timely.—KGF Vissers