Soviet women during the Great Patriotic War. The Great Patriotic War. women in war

The most important thing that we need to know about women in the Red Army is that quite a lot of them served there, and they played a very important role in the defeat of fascism. Note that not only in the USSR women were drafted into the army, in other countries too, but only in our country the fair sex participated in hostilities, served in combat units.

Researchers note that in different periods, from 500 thousand to 1 million women served in the ranks of the Red Army. That's enough. Why were women drafted into the army? Firstly, among the fair sex, there were initially women liable for military service: doctors, first of all, civil aviation pilots (not so many, but still). And so, when the war began, thousands of women on a voluntary basis began to join the people's militia. True, they were sent back quite quickly, since there was no installation - to draft women into the army. That is, to clarify once again, in the 1920-1930s, women did not serve in the Red Army.

Only in the USSR during the war years did women take part in hostilities.

Actually, the conscription of women into the army began in the spring of 1942. Why at this particular time? There weren't enough people. In 1941 - early 1942, the Soviet army suffered colossal losses. In addition, there were tens of millions of people in the German-occupied territory, among them men of military age. And when at the beginning of 1942 they drew up a plan for the formation of new military formations, it turned out that there were not enough people.

Women from the militia unit in military training, 1943

What was the idea of ​​calling women? In that women replace men in those positions where they could really replace them, and men went to combat units. In Soviet terms, it was called very simply - the voluntary mobilization of women. That is, theoretically, women went into the army voluntarily, in practice it was, of course, different.

The parameters for which women should be called up were described: age - 18-25 years old, education not lower than seven classes, it is desirable that they be Komsomol members, healthy, and so on.

To be honest, the statistics on women who were drafted into the army are very scarce. Moreover, for a long time it was under the heading of secrecy. Only in 1993 was it possible to clarify something. Here are some data: about 177 thousand women served in the air defense forces; in the troops of the local air defense (NKVD department) - 70 thousand; there were almost 42 thousand signalmen (this, by the way, is 12% of all signal troops in the Red Army); physicians - over 41 thousand; women who served in the Air Force (mainly as support staff) - over 40 thousand; 28.5 thousand women are cooks; almost 19 thousand are drivers; almost 21,000 served in the Navy; in the ZhDV - 7.5 thousand and about 30 thousand women served in a variety of guises: say, from librarians, for example, to snipers, tank commanders, scouts, pilots, military pilots, and so on (by the way, most of them both written and known).

Age and education were the main selection criteria

It must be said that the mobilization of women passed through the Komsomol (unlike male conscripts, who were registered with the military registration and enlistment offices). But, of course, not only Komsomol members were called up: there would simply not be enough of them.

As for the organization of the life of women in the army, no supernova decisions were made. Gradually (not immediately) they were provided with uniforms, shoes, and some items of women's clothing. They all lived together: both simple peasant girls, “many of whom strove to get pregnant as soon as possible and go home alive,” and intellectuals who read Chateaubriand before going to bed and regretted that the books of the French writer in the original could not be obtained.

Soviet pilots are discussing the last sortie, 1942

It is impossible not to say about the motives that guided women when they went to the service. We have already mentioned that mobilization was considered voluntary. Indeed, many women themselves were eager to join the army, they were annoyed that they did not get into combat units. For example, Elena Rzhevskaya, a well-known writer, the wife of the poet Pavel Kogan, even before being drafted, in 1941, leaving her daughter to her husband's parents, ensured that she was taken to the front as a translator. And Elena went through the whole war, up to the storming of Berlin, where she participated in the search for Hitler, in the identification and investigation of the circumstances of his suicide.

Another example is the squadron navigator Galina Dzhunkovskaya, later a Hero of the Soviet Union. As a child, Galina managed to put a cherry seed in her ear, so she could not hear in one ear. For medical reasons, she was not supposed to be drafted into the army, but she insisted. She served valiantly throughout the war and was wounded.

However, the other half of the women found themselves in the service, as they say, under pressure. There are a lot of complaints about the violation of the principle of voluntariness in the documents of political bodies.

Camping wives even had some representatives of the high command

Let's touch on a rather sensitive issue - the issue of intimate relationships. It is known that during the war the Germans created a whole network of military field brothels, most of which were located on the Eastern Front. For ideological reasons, nothing like this could be in the Red Army. However, the Soviet officers and soldiers cut off from their families still got the so-called field wives from among the female military personnel. Even some representatives of the high command had such concubines. For example, marshals Zhukov, Eremenko, Konev. The last two, by the way, married their fighting girlfriends during the war. That is, it happened in different ways: both romantic relationships, and love, and coercion to cohabitation.

Soviet female partisans

In this context, it is best to quote a letter from Elena Deichman, a nurse student at the Moscow Institute of Philosophy, Literature and History, who volunteered for the army even before being drafted. Here is what she wrote to her father in the camp at the beginning of 1944: “Most of the girls - and among them there are good people and workers - married officers here who live with them and take care of them, and yet, these are temporary , fickle and fragile marriages, because each of them has a family and children at home and is not going to leave them; it is simply difficult for a man to live at the front without affection and alone. I am an exception in this respect, and for this, I feel, I am especially respected and distinguished. And he continues: “Many men here say that after the war they will not come up and talk to a military girl. If she has medals, then they supposedly know for what "military merit" the medal was received. It is very hard to realize that many girls deserve such an attitude by their behavior. In units, in war, we need to be especially strict with ourselves. I have nothing to reproach myself with, but sometimes I think with a heavy heart that maybe someone who did not know me here, seeing me in a tunic with a medal, will also say about me with an ambiguous laugh.

For feats, about a hundred women were awarded the highest awards

As for pregnancy, this topic was perceived in the army as a completely normal phenomenon. Already in September 1942, a special decree was adopted on the supply of pregnant female soldiers with everything (if possible, of course) necessary. That is, everyone perfectly understood that the country needed people, it was necessary to somehow replace all these gigantic losses. By the way, in the first post-war decade, 8 million children were born out of wedlock. And it was the choice of women.

There is one very curious, but at the same time tragic story related to this topic. Vera Belik, a navigator, served in the famous Taman Guards Aviation Regiment. She married a pilot from a neighboring regiment and became pregnant. And now she faced a choice: either finish the fight, or go on with her fighting girlfriends. And she had an abortion (abortions, of course, were banned in the USSR, but, in general, during the war they turned a blind eye to this) secretly from her husband. There was a terrible fight. And in one of the subsequent sorties, Vera Belik died along with Tatyana Makarova. The pilots were burned alive.

"Lady Death", sniper Lyudmila Pavlichenko, 1942

Speaking about the mobilization of women in the Red Army, the question involuntarily arises: did the country's leadership manage to solve the tasks set? Oh sure. Just think: for the exploits during the Great Patriotic War, about a hundred women were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union (mostly they were pilots and snipers). Unfortunately, most of them were posthumously... At the same time, one should not forget about female partisans, underground fighters, doctors, intelligence officers, about those who did not receive a big award, but made a real feat - went through the war and contributed to the victory.

Illustrations: Stepan Gilev

If you think about it, there is nothing surprising in this. Women often become the cause of fights, and war differs from a yard brawl only in the scale of hostilities and the amount of destruction. Where two people clashed, two armies may well fight. And no matter what excuses the victors invent later, no matter how the historians distort the facts, they still cannot hide the ugly truth: military conflicts over women have occurred on this planet since ancient times and with enviable regularity. And not always their participants and winners were noble knights who stood up for the lady of the heart ...

Abduction and punishment (XIII century BC)

This legend is probably familiar to you (if you have ever read Homer or at least watched Brad Pitt). After the Trojan Paris kidnapped Princess Helen from Sparta, the Greeks set out to take revenge on the unreasonable Trojans. It happened in the XIII century BC. e., and in those distant times, as you know, women were considered military booty, along with livestock and precious metals. That is, beauties were stolen often and without consequences (except for a horde of noisy children). However, Elena had too many fans, or, as Homer would say, her face called a thousand ships to go. At the same time, no one took an interest in the opinion of Elena herself, although she fled, in general, voluntarily and as a beloved man. As a result, Troy, a flourishing city in Asia Minor, was razed to the ground. According to legend, after the capture of the city, the Greeks wanted to stone Elena, but when they saw her (there is a version that she was naked), they fell into ecstasy and dropped the cobblestones from their hands. It is a pity that at least a black and white photograph of Elena has not been preserved since those times. We would print it in our magazine and maybe even put it on the cover.

Once Stolen (8th century BC)

Lord of the Ring (5th century)

In 417, Justa Grata Honoria was born in the Western Roman Empire, the culprit of another bloody war. Her father, Emperor Constantius III, died quite early, and therefore Honoria's brother Valentinian III became the new ruler of Rome. When the girl was 16 years old, she received the title "August". This meant that in the future her husband, whoever he was, could well claim the imperial throne. Soon Honoria looked after herself a groom. As soon as this became known to Valentinian, the unfortunate girl was sent to Constantinople and put under house arrest. Beloved Honoria, as usual, was executed. In Constantinople, Justa Grata lived a monastic life for more than ten years, dreaming of simple female happiness. The prospect of marriage to some noble pensioner did not please her. And then she committed a terrible act in its consequences - with the help of a faithful person, she sent her ring with a letter to Attila himself, the formidable leader of the Huns. In a letter, she offered herself (as a wife) and half of the Western Roman Empire (as a dowry) to the Hun. Attila did not have to be persuaded for a long time. Having received the ring, he demanded from Rome to give him his lawful bride. In the blink of an eye, the long-suffering Justa Grata was married to almost the first person she met (an old senator turned out to be the lucky one). However, this did not stop Attila, and he started a war. So in 451, two huge armies converged on the Catalaunian fields - the Hun, led by Attila, and the Roman-barbarian, led by Flavius ​​Aetius. Chroniclers claim that there were about half a million people on each side, and the total losses amounted to 165 thousand killed. And all these people died because Honoria did not want to marry the old man ...

Trip to Rome (5th century)

Valentinian III (the one who did not let his sister Honoria get married) due to his stupidity became a participant in another bloody drama. He suddenly and very strongly desired the wife of his entourage, Petronius Maximus. Having lured a gullible woman into his palace, he abused her. The unfortunate woman soon died. Petronius was offended and took revenge: two people devoted to him became the bodyguards of Valentinian III, after which they slaughtered him with daggers without hindrance in 455. Having thus made the Empress Eudoxia Licinia a widow, Petronius forced her into a joint family life and began to rule Rome (now such things are commonly called swing). But he lasted only a couple of months: Eudoxia called the vandals to Rome, led by Gaiseric. Why exactly them? Because the son of Gaiseric, Huneric, was engaged to the daughter of Eudoxia, Eudoxia the Younger, and Petronius was going to marry her son Palladius, which the Vandals could not tolerate. In addition, as you know, in the era of the Great Migration of Nations, Rome was the favorite tourist destination of the barbarians.

Bath for the queen (VI century)

At the end of the 5th century, the Ostrogoths settled in Italy and formed their own kingdom. Let them live and be happy! But it did not work out: Amalasunta, the daughter of King Theodoric, in 526 began to rule the country as a regent with her eight-year-old son Athalaric. A smart, energetic and beautiful woman dreamed of making her people civilized. She established diplomatic relations with Justinian, emperor of Byzantium, and brought up her son in the Roman spirit, which caused discontent among many of her subjects. In the end, the Goths turned their own son against her and taught him to typically barbaric entertainment. Atalaric got a taste and exhausted his body with drunken orgies. Soon he died "from excesses," as the chroniclers sparingly report. Wishing to retain power, in 534 Amalasunta agreed with her cousin Theodagad on joint rule. However, having become king, this same bastard immediately sent her to prison. The Byzantine ambassador negotiated the release of Amalasunta, but Theodogad ordered her to be killed. Amalasuntha was locked in a bath filled with hot steam, which is why she died. Justinian did not tolerate this and in 535 declared war on the Ostrogoths. The country was plunged into bloody chaos for 19 years!

Two sisters (VI century)

In the 6th century in Europe, a war broke out between the kingdoms of Austrasia (the so-called state, which included part of modern France and Germany, Holland and Belgium) and Neustria (located a little to the west). The chroniclers unanimously consider Brunnhilde, Queen of Austrasia, to be the culprit, although in fact two more ladies were involved. Brunnhilde was married to the Austrasian king Sigibert I, and her own sister Galsvinta also did not waste time and married Chilperic, king of Neustria. It was this same Halsvinta Chilperic who killed, because his mistress wanted to become queen. Brunnhilde asked her husband to punish her sister's offender and demand back the cities that Chilperic had received as a dowry. The proud and greedy Chilperic did not accept the ultimatum, and the war began. In 575, Sigibert died (they say that the same mistress of Chilperic organized a successful attempt on his life). Brunnhilde was captured by the enemies, from where she managed to escape. She ruled Austrasia for a long time, until she was captured by the son of Chilperic Chlothar II. He accused Brunnhilde of inciting civil strife (this is cynicism!) and in 613 ordered the aged queen to be torn apart by horses.

War, Emir! (VIII century)

The kingdom of the Visigoths, which existed for 300 years (from 418 to 718) on the territory of modern Spain, also fell because of a woman. In Spanish folk romances, her name is still heard - La Cava. The king of the Visigoths, Rodrigo, passionately desired her. Not having achieved reciprocity, he took the proud beauty by force. If the king had known what would come of this, he would have cut off his instrument of crime in advance, because La Cava was the daughter of the commandant of Ceuta, Count Julian. And the fortress of Ceuta at that time just blocked the Moors' way to the Iberian Peninsula through Gibraltar. Don Julian decided to take revenge on the king and in 711 he agreed to let the seven thousandth army of Arabs into the country. Rodrigo was killed in the first battle. Seven years later, the Visigothic refugees who arrived in Rome informed the Pope that there was no longer a Christian kingdom on the Iberian Peninsula: the Arabs founded the Emirate of Cordoba on the occupied lands.

Okay, sunshine? (X century)

In the X century in Russia, the sons of Svyatoslav were at enmity with each other. Yaropolk at that time ruled in Kyiv, and Vladimir, the future Baptist, also known as the Red (according to some sources, Clear) Sun, was sitting in Novgorod. The third force was Prince Rogvolod of Polotsk. His daughter Rogneda was famous for her beauty. An associate of Vladimir Dobrynya Nikitich (by the way, the real prototype of the epic Russian hero) advised Vladimir to woo Rogneda in order to enlist the support of Rogvolod. And the girl managed to answer “no”! In addition, Rogneda arrogantly added that she did not want to be the wife of a prince of servile origin (Vladimir's mother, Malusha, was a housekeeper, that is, a slave). Dobrynya, also a relative of Malusha, was very offended by this. The prince was even more offended and in 978 went to war against Polotsk. The city was captured, after which Vladimir made Rogneda his wife in the presence of all her relatives (Dobrynya insisted on this monstrous act of violence).

Marry a prince (XII century)

As you probably forgot (although they talked about it in school), the Hundred Years War is considered the longest in the history of mankind, and it was fought from 1337 to 1453. The unwitting culprit of these events - Eleanor, the beautiful red-haired daughter of William X, Duke of Aquitaine, was born long before the start of the war, in 1122. At the age of 15, after the death of her father and brother, the girl inherited the vast Duchy of Aquitaine and the County of Poitou. According to the will, Eleanor's husband became the sovereign owner of these lands. Of course, Eleanor's guardian, King Louis VI of France the Fat, made sure that the rich heiress married his son. He, after the death of his father, became the French king, also Louis, but the Seventh. Aquitaine went to France, and Eleanor, in between acts of adultery, began to manipulate her husband, inclining him in favor of certain political exploits, and bore him two daughters. Apotom, the royal couple quarreled to the ground. The Pope tried to reconcile them, but was nevertheless forced to announce a divorce in 1152. The daughters remained with Louis, while Eleanor retained Aquitaine. A couple of months after the divorce, the 30-year-old beauty Eleanor seduced the 18-year-old English Prince Henry of Anjou and married him. He soon became King Henry II Plantagenet. Having become Queen of England, Eleanor gave birth to eight children (two of her sons, Richard the Lionheart and Prince John, are known to you from the legends of Robin Hood). And now, finally, about the war. It just so happened that Aquitaine (aka Guyenne, aka Gascony) because of Eleanor's second marriage went to England. The French monarchs did not like this very much, but they fastened for a long time and did not show it. However, at the beginning of the XIII century, when the Duchy of Gascony remained the last possession of the English crown on the continent, the patience of the French ran out. They set out to finally take over this territory, and unleashed the Hundred Years War.

In that deaf steppe ... (XII century)

If you look, even the Tatar-Mongol invasion also happened because of a woman. Her name was Borte, and she was the wife of Temujin (Genghis Khan). Around 1180 (the exact date is unknown), Borte was kidnapped by the Merkits, guys from a small tribe with whom Temujin was at enmity. In response, he gathered 30,000 horsemen and freed Borte, defeating the Merkits. Everyone liked it so much that Temujin was soon named Genghis Khan and many warriors wanted to join him. Genghis Khan managed to put together a strong army and win the steppe war that unfolded between the tribes. In 1206 he was proclaimed great khan over all the Mongols. Then you know: under his leadership, the Mongols captured China and conquered Central Asia. Dying, Genghis Khan ordered his descendants to conquer the whole world, and they tried to fulfill his will.

Defeat of the Invincible (XVI century)

The Anglo-Spanish War (1587–1604) started over two women. One of them, Queen Elizabeth I of England, refused to marry the Spanish King Philip II. After all, he was already married to the previous Queen of England - Mary the Bloody (yes, she gave the name to the cocktail), but she died without giving birth to an heir. Elizabeth I did not want to indulge Philip's habit of marrying English queens. And then there's the second woman, Mary Stuart. This lady was the Queen of Scots, and she also claimed the English throne. She ruled in a country torn by civil war (where the Scottish Catholics fought the Protestants). In 1567, the Protestants defeated Mary's army, she was forced to abdicate and flee to England. The former Queen of Scots was placed in Sheffield Castle, where she was kept under strict supervision, because Mary was still a contender for the English crown. But when she was caught in correspondence with conspirators who wanted to kill Elizabeth I, the queen ordered the execution of Mary Stuart, which was done in 1587. The death of the last queen, whom one could marry, prompted Philip II to declare war on England and send the Invincible Armada, the Spanish navy, which, alas, was destroyed by storms and English sailors under the command of the pirate Drake.

Bride for the emperor (19th century)

Napoleon in his letters more than once stuttered that a woman was to blame for his confrontation with Russia, which had always been an ally of Prussia. Or rather, the Prussian Queen Louise, wife of Friedrich Wilhelm III. Bonaparte had no doubt that it was because of her affair with Tsar Alexander I that the Russian army fought the French at Austerlitz (1805) and Preussisch-Eylau (1807). But there is another reason why the relationship between Napoleon and Alexander was very strained: the emperor of France twice asked the tsar for consent to marry the Russian princess and was refused both times. At first, Napoleon wanted to marry Catherine, the sister of Alexander I, but she was quickly married off to another. Then he looked after the young princess Anna as his bride.

It is difficult enough to single out the greatest. Any woman who has been in combat conditions and at the same time clearly fulfills her duties deserves to be called great. Female nature, in essence, is opposed to war, a woman was created in order to give life, and not take it away. Indeed, special, very serious circumstances are needed for a woman to end up in a war. But when she surpasses men in courage, when the strength of her spirit is amazing, when she does something almost impossible - this is real greatness! Here are vivid examples of such women during the war years:

✰ ✰ ✰

There is no other woman in the history of the world who would command a platoon of marines. Yes, even as commanded! "Frau Black Death" - that's what the enemy soldiers called her. During the fighting, Evdokia was wounded four times and shell-shocked twice. By the beginning of the war, she was not even sixteen, she persuaded the commander of the Red Army to take her with him when German planes were already bombing her native village. Having added three years to herself, she became a medical instructor, and when, by mistake, mistaking her for a soldier, they offered to go to the front line, she did not convince anyone.

Evdokia was appointed intelligence commander, and by the time she was "exposed" she had already committed several heroic deeds. In October 1943 she was appointed commander of a platoon of submachine gunners in the Marine Corps. The soldiers obeyed and respected her, the platoon was sent to the most difficult areas. Her name terrified the enemy. Evdokia Zavaliy is an honorary citizen of eight cities. She has five military orders and many different medals.

✰ ✰ ✰

About two hundred enemies were killed by this woman, a Filipino guerrilla who fought against the Japanese on the island of Leyte, during World War II. A schoolteacher, she became the leader of the guerrilla movement after the Japanese invaded. Together with the men who participated in the partisan movement, she killed the invaders with thin knives.

The Philippines has a very developed culture of edged weapons, as the country was often under oppression, and agricultural knives were also used. 10,000 pesos were offered by the enemy for her head. In battle, Nieves was wounded, but remained alive and in the memory of all Filipinos she will forever remain a hero.

✰ ✰ ✰

From the age of 14, Lydia, like many Soviet teenagers, studied at the flying club. During the war, in 1942 she was enlisted in the women's air regiment. She shot down German bombers and fighters, and she was only 21 years old!

She asked to draw a white lily on the hood of the plane, her call sign was "Lily", and also, she was called the "White Lily of Stalingrad". She was transferred to a fighter aviation regiment, where the best pilots were assembled. Almost two dozen downed aircraft (individually and in a group). On August 1, 1943, the White Lily made four sorties, shot down two planes and did not return from the last flight. Four orders, the star of the Hero of the Soviet Union, is listed in the Guinness Book of Records - a woman pilot with the most victories in battles.

✰ ✰ ✰

Heroine of the First World War. Among the female soldiers of Serbia, she has the most decorations, she was wounded at least nine times, and the French called her the Serbian Joan of Arc.

In 1912, Milunka pretended to be a man, the truth was revealed only a year later - when she was wounded. Milunka was allowed to continue serving on the front lines, as she fought to match the men. In 1914, during the First World War, she signed up as a volunteer. The girl fought bravely during the Battle of Kolubara and was awarded the order. In 1915 she received a severe head wound, but after a few months she returned to the front again. During the Battle of Kaimakchalan, Milunka immediately took 23 Bulgarian soldiers prisoner. Nine significant awards of Milunka are known. In her homeland, in many cities, streets are named after her.

✰ ✰ ✰

America 1776 Ford Washington in New York. There is a war for independence. Margaret followed her husband, as did some other women in the war, in order to cook and wash for him. Her husband John, during one of the attacks, replaces the killed commander at the cannon. John is also killed in the battle. Then Margaret takes his place. Moreover, she herself had to load the gun and shoot. She was seriously wounded by buckshot, but she continued to shoot. That battle was won by the British, they took the heroic woman prisoner, but then they released her. She was awarded a soldier's pension for bravery.

✰ ✰ ✰

During the British occupation of Buenos Aires in 1806, Manuela fought fiercely in the streets of the city. Women fought for the freedom of their homeland as fiercely as men. The fight culminated in the square, at which time Manuela's husband was killed. Then she took a bayonet and killed the Englishman who was shooting at him. She was very brave in battle.

Now in Buenos Aires there is a street and a school that bear the name of Manuela Pedraza. And in Tucuman, where she was born, there is a rural community with her name. There is also an annual Manuela Pedraza Award highlighting the role of women in social struggle. It recalls the defense of the national interests for which many Argentines gave their lives.

✰ ✰ ✰

The world famous Maid of Orleans. In the midst of the Hundred Years War, this seventeen-year-old girl told the Dauphin Charles that the Lord had sent her to save France. She received a special permit to wear men's clothes, a sword was found for her, which belonged to Charlemagne (so the legend went). A huge rise in the army was caused by the fact that they will now be led by the messenger of God.

Her first victory was the capture of Orleans, something that eminent military leaders could not do for a long time, Jeanne did in four days. An extraordinary girl won many important victories, but as a result of betrayal, she was handed over to the British and burned at the stake. At the same time, many present wept with pity, and Jeanne shouted to the bishop that she was calling him to God's judgment. The execution of the girl did not help the British, after the victories, the coronation of Cala, the unification with Burgundy, the Hundred Years War ended. The verdict was announced, the good name of the girl was restored. And later she was canonized.

✰ ✰ ✰

The character is mythical, historians have not confirmed her existence, but if the legend of this warrior woman is passed down from generation to generation, you must admit that this does not happen from scratch. According to research, Gwendolen was the third ruler of Britain, her father is the legendary warrior Korin. After his death, Gwendolen's husband proclaimed another girl, whom he secretly loved, as queen.

The enraged queen gathers an army and in the battle near the river Stur, King Lorin was killed. She also ordered that the king's beloved and her daughter be thrown into the river. Gwendolen ruled Britain for fifteen years and left the throne to her son. This is how great women avenge injustice and treason.

✰ ✰ ✰

Matilda, Countess of Tuscany

Not many medieval women participated in hostilities, and Matilda not only took part in them, but she herself led her regiments forward. The marriages of her family, which strengthened the possession of Tuscany, did not suit the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, they violated a certain balance of power. And Matilda unconditionally takes the side of the popes, opponents of the emperor.

Emperor Henry had to endure the humiliation of losing battles more than once and had to leave Northern Italy. Matilda was called the "Grand Countess" by her contemporaries.

✰ ✰ ✰

Constance Markevich

She was one of the first women to hold positions in the government. Constance was Minister of Labor in Ireland. She was also a Member of the British Parliament and a Member of Parliament of the Republic of Ireland. Constance married an artist from a very wealthy Polish family and became Countess Markevich. She communicated with many future politicians, read revolutionary magazines, which dealt with the liberation of Ireland from the yoke of Great Britain.

For the first time, Constance went to prison after a demonstration in 1911. She throws stones at portraits of the royal family, burns the British flag, supplies weapons to Irish volunteers, takes part in the famous Easter Rising. This heroic woman participates during the Civil War in the battle for Dublin. Her heart was clad in courage like armor.

✰ ✰ ✰

Conclusion

It was an article about the most famous female warriors in the world. Although the military exploits of many other women are now forgotten, this does not mean that their role in our lives is insignificant. Thank you for your attention.

After the fall of the monarchy in February 1917, the collapse of discipline and order in the now republican Russian army reached its critical point. Even executions of deserters on the spot did not give a tangible result. Something had to be done.

Already known at that time, a female officer, Maria Bochkareva, decided to create a female combat unit that would become a moral example for male warriors. Maria said so: “I know that a woman, as a warrior, cannot give anything of value to her Motherland. We - women - only have to show an example to deserter soldiers how to save Russia. Let us all perish - if only they understood their duty to the Motherland! That's all we need - to attract attention!

Supreme Commander Alexei Brusilov was skeptical about this innovation, rightly noting that there were no such units in any army in the world. However, Alexander Kerensky was interested in even a little help in maintaining order among the troops, so the order to create such a detachment was signed on June 19, 1917.

Of the two thousand female volunteers, only 300 were selected. There was strict discipline in the detachment: they got up at five in the morning, worked out until ten in the evening, ate simple soldier food. Women were shaved bald.

Black epaulettes with a red stripe and an emblem in the form of a skull and two crossed bones symbolized "unwillingness to live if Russia perishes."

The rigidity with which Maria implemented her idea was vital: women went to fight on the front lines, and not just work as nurses.

The founder of the battalion of suicide bombers herself said it best:

"In the battalion I propose, I will have full sole power and seek obedience. Otherwise, there is no need to create a battalion."

Soon several more battalions were created, but due to political differences with Kerensky, as a result, approximately 300 women remained under the direct command of Bochkareva, and this unit was called the 1st Petrograd Women's Shock Battalion of Death.

On July 9, 1917, a baptism of fire took place. In the infantry chain, men and women were lined up through one. Under artillery and machine-gun fire, 30 women were killed, 70 were injured, but the German fortifications were captured and the battalion showed true heroism.

Despite a successful military debut, the use of women's units in combat was deemed inappropriate. Maria Bochkareva was promoted, but then her fate was tragic. According to one version, she was shot for collaborating with the White Guards in 1919, according to another, she went missing in 1920.

Not so long ago, the Russian media wrote animatedly that the Krasnodar Higher Military Aviation School began to accept applications from girls. Dozens of those wishing to sit at the helm of a combat aircraft immediately poured into the selection committee.

In peacetime, girls who master military specialties seem to us something exotic. But when the threat of war looms over the country, the fair sex often shows amazing courage and resilience, in no way inferior to men. So it was during the Great Patriotic War, when women fought at the front on an equal footing with men. They mastered a variety of military professions and carried out military service as nurses, pilots, sappers, scouts and even snipers.

In difficult military conditions, young girls, many of whom were yesterday's schoolgirls, performed feats and died for the Fatherland. At the same time, even in the trenches, they continued to preserve femininity, showing it in everyday life and reverent care for their comrades.

Few of our contemporaries are able to imagine what Soviet women had to go through during the war years. There are already few of them themselves - those who survived and managed to convey precious memories to their descendants.

One of the keepers of these memories is our colleague, the chief specialist of the scientific department of the RVIO, candidate of historical sciences Victoria Petrakova. She devoted her scientific work to the topic of women in the war, the topic of her research is Soviet female snipers.

She told History.RF about the hardships that befell these heroines (Victoria was lucky enough to communicate with some of them personally).

"The parachutes were laid out to carry the bombs"

Victoria, I understand that the topic of women at the front is very extensive, so let's take a closer look at the Great Patriotic War.

The mass participation of Soviet women in the Great Patriotic War is an unprecedented phenomenon in world history. Neither in Nazi Germany nor in the allied countries did such a number of women participate in the war, and, moreover, women did not master military specialties abroad. With us, they were pilots, snipers, tankers, sappers, miners ...

- Did Russian women start fighting only in 1941? Why were they recruited into the army?

This happened with the emergence of new military registration specialties, the development of technology, and the involvement of a large number of human resources in combat operations. Women were called in to free the men for more difficult warfare. Our women were on the battlefields during the Crimean War, the First World War, and the Civil War.

- Is it known how many women in the Soviet Union fought during the Great Patriotic War?

- Historians have not yet established the exact figure. In various works, the number is from 800 thousand to 1 million. During the war years, these women mastered more than 20 military professions.

- Were there many female pilots among them?

- As for the pilots, we had three women's aviation regiments. The decree on their creation was issued on October 8, 1941. This happened thanks to the famous pilot Marina Mikhailovna Raskova, who at that time was already a Hero of the Soviet Union and turned directly to Stalin with such a proposal. The girls actively went into aviation, because then there were many different flying clubs. Moreover, in September 1938, Polina Osipenko, Valentina Grizodubova and Marina Raskova made a direct flight from Moscow to the Far East lasting more than 26 hours. For this flight they were awarded the title of "Hero of the Soviet Union". They became the first women - Heroes of the Soviet Union before the war, and during the war, Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya became the first. Thus, the history of women in aviation during the war years acquired a completely new sound. As I said, we had three aviation regiments: 586th, 587th and 588th. The 588th was subsequently (in February 1943) renamed the 46th Taman Guards Regiment. The Germans called the pilots of this regiment the "Night Witches".

- Which of the military pilots of that time could you highlight?

- Among the women who piloted fighters, one of the most famous is Lydia (Lilia) Litvyak, who was called the "White Lily of Stalingrad." She went down in history as the most productive female fighter: she had 16 victories on her account - 12 personal and 4 group. Lydia began her combat career in the sky over Saratov, then defended the sky of Stalingrad in the most difficult September days of 1942. She died on August 1, 1943 - she did not return from a combat mission. Moreover, it is interesting: she had a fighting friend who told me that Lydia said that the worst thing for her would be to go missing, because then her memory would be erased. Actually, that's what happened. And only in the early 1970s in the Donetsk region, search teams found a mass grave, in which they found the girl. After examining the remains and comparing the documents, it was established that this was Lydia Litvyak. In 1990 she was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

In the already mentioned 46th Women's Aviation Regiment, there were a lot of those who were awarded this title posthumously. Pilots, when they left for a combat mission at night, sometimes laid out parachutes. And the planes on which they flew were practically plywood. That is, if shells hit them, the planes instantly ignited, and the pilots could no longer eject.

- Why didn't they take parachutes with them?

- To carry more bombs. Despite the fact that the plane could easily catch fire, its advantage was that it was slow. This made it possible to quietly fly up to enemy positions, which increased the accuracy of bombing. But if the projectile did hit the plane, many were burned alive in bombers diving to the ground.

“Men cried when they saw girls die”

- Is it known what percentage of Soviet women could survive until the end of the war?

This is very difficult to ascertain if one takes into account the leadership's not well-ordered mobilization policy towards women during the war years. Statistics on losses among women do not exist at all! In the book of G. F. Krivosheev (Grigory Fedotovich Krivosheev - Soviet and Russian military historian, author of several works on the military losses of the Armed Forces of the USSR - Note. ed.), which is the best-known study to date, which contains the most accurate data on losses, it is said that women were included in the total number of losses - there was no distinction by gender. Therefore, the number of women who died during the Great Patriotic War is still unknown.

How did women cope with domestic difficulties in the war? After all, here they were required not only moral, but also physical endurance.

- Women's health at the front was practically atrophied, the body was constantly in a state of mobilization - both mentally and physiologically. It is clear that after the war people "thawed" and came to their senses, but in the war it simply could not be otherwise. A person needed to survive, it was necessary to carry out a combat mission. The conditions were very extreme. In addition, women fell into mixed units. Imagine: the infantry marches tens of kilometers - it was difficult to solve some everyday moments when there were only men around. In addition, not all women were subject to mobilization. Those who had small children, elderly dependent parents were not taken to the war. Because the military leadership understood that all the experiences associated with this could subsequently affect the psychological state at the front.

- What was required to pass this selection?

It was necessary to have a minimum education and be in very good physical condition. Only those who had excellent eyesight could become snipers. By the way, many Siberians were taken to the front - they were very strong girls. In particular, they were attentive to the psychological state of a person. We cannot but recall Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya, who in the most difficult days of the Moscow battle became a scout-saboteur. Unfortunately, various negative statements are currently appearing that offend the memory of this girl and devalue her feat. For some reason, people do not try to realize that she entered the reconnaissance and sabotage unit, where, of course, they did not take those with mental disabilities. To serve there, it was necessary to pass a medical examination, obtain various certificates, and so on. This part was commanded by a major, a hero of the Spanish war, the legendary Arthur Sprogis. He obviously would have seen some deviations. Therefore, the mere fact that she was enrolled in this unit and she became a scout-saboteur indicates that the person was mentally stable.

- How did men treat women in the military? Were they perceived as equal comrades-in-arms?

It all turned out to be very interesting. For example, when female snipers came to the front, men treated them with irony and distrust: “They brought the girls!” And when the first control firing started and these girls knocked out all the targets, respect for them, of course, increased. Naturally, they were taken care of, snipers were even called "glasses". They were treated like a father. A very touching story was told to me by sniper Klavdia Efremovna Kalugina. She had three sniper pairs, and everyone was called Masha. All three died. Her first sniper pair, Masha Chigvintseva, died in the summer of 1944. Then there was the operation "Bagration" - they liberated Belarus. Masha moved, and, apparently, the optics glared in the sun. The German sniper fired and hit her just below the right eye, right through. Masha dropped dead. Claudia Efremovna said that at that moment she screamed at the entire line of defense. Soldiers ran out of the dugout to her crying, tried to calm her down: “Don’t cry, the Germans will hear, they will open mortar fire!” But nothing worked. This is understandable: after all, you share shelter, food, secrets with a sniper pair, this is your closest person. She was buried in the summer in a field where there were many wild flowers: the grave was decorated with daisies and bells. Everyone came to bury Masha, up to the unit commanders. But it was already 1944, and the men had seen a lot of death and blood. But still, everyone cried at Masha's funeral. When she was lowered into the ground, the commander said: "Sleep well, dear Marusya." And all the men wept when they saw the young girls dying.

“When they came back, all sorts of unpleasant things sounded”

- And in which troops was it most dangerous for women to serve?

- In 1943, a study was conducted on the Leningrad Front on injuries among women of various military professions. It was highest, naturally, in the military medical service - nurses pulled the wounded from the battlefield under bullets and shrapnel. Signalmen and miners were often injured. If we talk about snipers, then the injury rate of this military profession, for all its danger and complexity, was relatively low.

- Were there many women among the snipers? How were they trained?

- In the Soviet Union, the only women's sniper school operated not only in our country, but throughout the world. In November 1942, women's sniper courses were created at the Central School of Sniper Instructors (male). Then, in May 1943, the Central Women's Sniper Training School appeared; it existed until May 1945. This school has released about two thousand female cadets. Of these, 185 people were lost, that is, 10 percent of the total. Snipers, firstly, were protected, they were not allowed to attack: they were supposed to fight only on the defensive. Snipers mostly died during the execution of a combat mission. This could happen due to accidental negligence: during sniper duels (when the optical sight glared in the sun, the German sniper fired, and, accordingly, the sniper from the opposite side died) or under mortar fire.

- What happened to these heroines after the end of the war?

Their fates were different. In general, the topic of post-war rehabilitation of female soldiers is very complex. The memory of the women's feat during the war years was forgotten for a very long time. Even the grandmothers-veterans themselves told how embarrassed they were to say that they fought. This was shaped by negative attitudes in society, which relied on various stories about "field wives". For some reason, this cast a shadow on all the women who fought. When they returned, unfortunately, all sorts of unpleasant things could be said to them. But I talked with them and I know what front-line everyday life and combat work cost them. After all, many returned with health problems, could not then have children. Take the same snipers: they lay in the snow for two days, received maxillofacial wounds ... These women endured a lot.

- Really there were no war novels with a happy ending?

There were happy cases when love was born in the conditions of war, then people got married. There were sad stories when one of the lovers died. But all the same, as a rule, the stories of the same “field wives” are, first of all, crippled female destinies. And we have no moral right to judge, much less to condemn. Although already today someone, apparently not having respect for memory, pulls out only individual plots from the multifaceted history of the war, turning them into “fried” facts. And this is very sad. When a woman returned from the war, the process of getting used to civilian life took a long time. It was necessary to master peaceful professions. They worked in completely different areas: in museums, at factories, someone was an accountant, there were also those who went to teach theory at higher military schools. People returned psychologically broken, it was very difficult to build a personal life.

"Not everyone could fire the first shot"

Still, women are gentle and sensitive creatures, it is rather difficult to associate them with war, murders ... Those girls who went to the front, what were they like?

One of my articles tells the story of Lidia Yakovlevna Anderman. She was a sniper, holder of the Order of Glory; unfortunately, she is no longer alive. She said that after the war she dreamed for a very long time of the first killed German. At the school, future snipers were taught to shoot exclusively at targets, and at the front they had to deal with living people. Due to the fact that the distance could be small and the optical sight brought the target closer by 3.5 times, it was often possible to make out the enemy's uniform, the outlines of his face. Lidia Yakovlevna later recalled: “I saw through the scope that he had a red beard, some kind of red hair.” She dreamed of him for a long time even after the war. But not everyone could immediately make a shot: natural pity and qualities inherent in female nature made themselves felt when performing a combat mission. Of course, the women understood that the enemy was in front of them, but still it was a living person.

- How did they overpower themselves?

The death of comrades-in-arms, the realization that the enemy is doing in their native land, the tragic news from home - all this inevitably had an impact on the female psyche. And in such a situation, the question of whether it was necessary to go and carry out their combat mission did not arise: “... I must take up arms and take revenge myself. I already knew that I didn’t have any of my relatives left. My mother is gone…” one of the snipers recalled. Everywhere on the fronts, female snipers began to appear in 1943. At that time, the blockade of Leningrad had lasted for more than a year, the villages and villages of Belarus were burned, many relatives and comrades were killed. It was clear to everyone what the enemy had brought us. Sometimes people ask: “What did you need to have to be a sniper? Maybe it was some kind of predisposition of character, innate cruelty? Of course not. When you ask such questions, you need to try to “immerse yourself” in the psychology of a person who lived in wartime. Because they were the same ordinary girls! Like everyone else, they dreamed of marriage, arranged a modest military life, and took care of themselves. It's just that the war was a very mobilizing factor for the psyche.

- You said that the memory of a woman's feat was forgotten for many years. What has changed over time?

The first research papers on the participation of women in the Great Patriotic War began to appear only in the 1960s. Now, thank God, dissertations and monographs are being written about this. Women's feat is now, of course, established in the public mind. But, unfortunately, it's a bit late, because so many of them don't see it anymore. And many, perhaps, died forgotten, never knowing that someone wrote about them. In general, sources of personal origin are simply invaluable for studying the psychology of a person in war: memoirs, memoirs, interviews with veterans. After all, they talk about things that cannot be found in any archival document. It is clear that the war cannot be idealized, it was not only feats - it was both dirty and scary. But when we write or talk about it, we must always be as correct as possible, careful about the memory of those people. In no case should labels be attached, because we do not know even a thousandth of what really happened there. Many destinies were broken, distorted. And many veterans, in spite of everything that they had to endure, retained a clear look, sense of humor, optimism until the end of their days. We ourselves have a lot to learn from them. And most importantly - always remember them with great respect and gratitude.