10 female warriors undeservedly forgotten by history
Throughout history, there have been many women who have served and fought for their country on an equal footing with men. Their exploits will make you think about the well-established stereotype of the weak half of humanity.
Rosa Shanina was born in the Arkhangelsk region in the family of a lumberjack, in 1938 she entered the Arkhangelsk Pedagogical College, by the beginning of the war she was working in a kindergarten. In the summer of 1943, after the death of her brothers at the front, Rosa entered a sniper school and immediately attracted attention due to her amazing accuracy.
Six months later, having refused the position of instructor, Rosa insisted on being sent to the front, where she was soon called "the invisible horror of East Prussia." She was the first female sniper to be awarded the Order of Glory. In January 1945, Rosa died covering a wounded artillery commander. She has 59 officially confirmed destroyed opponents on her account.2. Edith Cavell (World War I)
Edith Cavell was a British nurse who worked in The Red Cross in Brussels. Belgium at that time was under the occupation of German troops. Edith Cavell helped more than two hundred soldiers escape to the neutral Netherlands, hiding them in a hospital under the guise of wounded. Soon her actions became suspicious to the Germans. Cavell was arrested, convicted of aiding the Allies, and shot.
Ginny and Lottie Moon, Confederate spies from Ohio. The girls were incredibly popular in the local community and dreamed of becoming actresses. During the Civil War, they became members of an underground Confederate group called the Knights of the Golden Ring. When it was necessary to deliver a letter to General Edmund Kirby Smith, Lottie, disguised as an old woman, successfully completed this mission. During several war years, both girls, using their acting talent, completed many dangerous assignments for their organization.
Emily Geiger, a descendant of Swiss immigrants, was born in South Carolina in 1765. When the war broke out, Emily became a military courier, successfully completing various missions and tasks. Delivering a secret message from General Nathaniel Green across the front line, she was captured by supporters of the Tory party, but managed to literally eat the message, and therefore was released. In fact, the girl knew the contents of the letter by heart and was able to deliver all the information safely.
Frenchwoman Marie Marvingt was born in 1875. In her youth, she became a master of sports of international class, winning competitions in skiing and cycling, skating, swimming and fencing. In 1910, she switched to mountaineering, becoming the first woman to conquer the peaks of the French and Swiss Alps.
Before the war, Marie won international shooting competitions. Another of her passions was aviation, and it was her aviator skills that came in handy in the war. Disguised as a man, Marie joined an infantry regiment, later she worked as a nurse, and then became the first female bomber pilot.
Maria was born in 1765 into a wealthy Spanish family. After the outbreak of the Mexican War of Independence, Maria defended her homeland, helping her military husband. Her duties included delivering messages to the rebels, as well as supplying soldiers. During this war, she lost both her husband and son, and she was soon captured. After spending about a year in prison, Maria Bocanegra never agreed to cooperate with the enemies, and therefore was found guilty of treason and shot.
Many women of the time supported the Jacobite uprisings, but Jenny Cameron was a particularly well-known figure. Young girl from Edinburgh fought for Prince Charles Stuart, nicknamed Handsome Charlie, and actually became one of the most famous participants of those events.
With the outbreak of the uprising, Jenny gathered 250 men and went to support the prince, staying with him until their defeat at Stirling Castle, and then, being captured, spent nine months in custody at Edinburgh Castle, from where she was supposedly released on bail. The further fate of Jenny Cameron is practically unknown, and therefore shrouded in folk legends and epics.
Spaniard Agustina Domenech, also known as Agustina de Aragon, became so famous that Lord Byron himself wrote a poem about her. She became famous for her activities in defending Spain during the War of Independence against the Napoleonic troops.
Agustina lived in Zaragoza, a city whose capture was planned to be one of the last. In June 1808, during fierce fighting outside the city gates, Agustina personally shot the front flank of the French with a cannon. This scene was so patriotically inspiring that soldiers and civilians resisted and held the city, albeit for a short time.
Flora Sandes was the only woman who officially served in the army during the First World War. She was born in England and from an early age engaged in horse riding and shooting, often mentioning that "she had the misfortune to be born a girl." In 1908, she became one of the first women to obtain a driver's license.
When the war broke out in Europe, Flora Sandes immediately enrolled in a Red Cross course, and then with a group of other nurses went to Serbia to work in a military hospital. Later, she was enlisted as a private in the Serbian army, where she quickly rose to the rank of officer, receiving the Serbian "Iron Regiment" in her command. For special bravery, she was awarded the highest military award of Serbia.