Forgotten warriors: the long history of women in combat
From Boudicca to Ukraine, battlefields have always contained a surprising number of women. We may not know it, but the narrative of the battlefield as an exclusively male space has required active maintenance to preserve. Military history expert Sarah Percy sets the record straight, revealing the forgotten warriors who served on the battlefield: some fighting disguised as men, others mobilized in times of national survival, and many others serving essential non-combat functions on the front lines. As Percy reveals, the exclusion of women from positions of active combat only began a few hundred years ago: it's a brief blip in a much longer narrative of female inclusion. From ancient history through the medieval period, there were women who commanded troops themselves, who dressed as men to fight in wars around the world, and who provided significant logistical support on the battlefield. It was only in the late nineteenth century-as warfare became increasingly professionalized and nation-states began to formalize rules around combat-that women were placed firmly on the home front. The outbreak of World War I changed this policy again, as states found their resources pushed to the limit by the emergence of global, industrial warfare that required total social mobilization. By the end of the 20th century, women were once again on the battlefield around the world. Against a backdrop of sieges and desperate battles, rebellions and civil wars, a series of extraordinary women come alive on the page, determined not to be passive victims. Deeply researched and brilliantly told, Forgotten Warriors turns the notion of war as a men's game on its head, and restores women to their rightful place on the frontlines of history.
