Women at War

With the UK recently allowing women into combat roles, we decided to take a look at the role of a few women in conflicts throughout history as this is not a new thing. For as long as conflicts have occurred, women have fought and died alongside men. The following post will be highlighting some of these events and individuals from antiquity to modern day.

Lady Fu Hao

During the 13^th Century BC in China, King Wu Ding was known for forming alliances by marrying a woman from each of the neighbouring tribes, one of these 60 wives was Lady Fu Hao. She took advantage of this marriage and slave-society and rose through the ranks, even leading troops into battle. The Shang Dynasty had been at war with the Tu-Fang for decades until they were defeated by Fu Hao in one decisive battle. She also led soldiers in the following wars against the neighbouring Yi, Qiang and Ba. Fu Hao became the most powerful military leader of the time.

Amage the Sarmatian Queen

 

Amage was the wife of the Sarmatian King Medosaccus in the 4^th Century BC. Polyaenus writes that her husband was more interested in luxury and himself than the country, and as such Amage took over as regent. The Scythians kept sending raiding parties into the Crimea (the Bosporan Kingdom was then an ally of the Sarmatians). Amage sent a message to the Scythian king to cease harassing her people. He ignored her request and she marched 120 warriors to the Scythian camp covering 140 miles in one day. When Amage arrived they took the Scythians by surprise, Amage’s troops killed the King, most of his family and guards only sparing the King’s son because he took an oath to obey her and to not continue the assault on her allies.

Queen Zenobia

Zenobia was a queen of the Palmyrene Empire during the 3^rd Century in Syria, who led a revolt against the Roman Empire. After her husband’s death in 267 she became ruler and expanded the empire, having conquered Egypt and expelling the Romans by the year 269. She ruled Egypt for 3 years until she was defeated in 271 by the Romans.

 

Æthelflæd Lady of the Mercians

Æthelflæd was the eldest daughter of King Alfred the Great of Wessex. She became the ruler of the Mercia in 911 and was known as a formidable military leader and tactician during the Viking invasions of England. She built a series of fortresses in the West Midlands and by allying herself with her brother, King Edward of Wessex, she was able to move against the occupying Danes in the South of England.

Ida of Austria

Ida of Austria raised and led her own army towards Jerusalem during the Crusades of 1101, she and her army were among those ambushed at Heraclea Cybistra. It is reported that she fell in the attack.

 

 

Maire o Ciaragain

Maire was an Irish warlord from Armagh in the 15^th Century. She led the Irish clans in revolt against the English Pale as well as the Earldom or Leinster and the Earldom of Ulster.

Abbakka Chowta

Abbakka was the Queen of Ullal who fought the Portuguese in the 16^th Century. The Portuguese made numerous attempts to capture Ullal but Abbakka was able to defeat each of their attacks for over four decades. Due to her bravery she became known as the Fearless Queen and is one of the earliest Indians to fight the colonial Powers.

Maria Wittek

Maria Wittek served in the Polish Army and associated organisations since she was 18 years old. During the Invasion of Poland in 1939 she was the commanding officer of the Women’s Military Assistance Battalions. She fought in the Warsaw Uprising and was promoted to Lt.Colonel. After the Warsaw Uprising was defeated she avoided being taken prisoner by the Germans and left the ruins of Warsaw among the Civilians.

 

There are of course thousands more examples of Women actively serving in conflicts from all around the world, but we’ve tried t0 highlight some of the least well known stories in this topic.

Eric Stanley Lock DSO, DFC & Bar

Eric Lock was born on the 19^th April 1919 in Bayston Hill, England. Lock had his first flying experience when he was 14 years of age as a birthday gift from his father.

During 1939 with the prospect of war breaking out and the possibility he would have been called up to serve, Lock made the decision that he would rather serve as an airman. He joined the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve at the age of 20. It was only after three months that he was called up and began his flight training.

As of September 1939 at the outbreak of World War Two, Lock joined the RAF as a Sergeant Pilot where he undertook further training at RAF Little Rissington’s Flying School. In May 1940 he became a commissioned Pilot Officer and was assigned to Number 41 Squadron at RAF Catterick in North Yorkshire.

Eric Lock married his girlfriend Peggy Meyers in July 1940 before returning to his unit and soon began combat patrols over the North of England.

This was largely defending British Airspace against Luftflotte 5 who were operating out of occupied Norway. Number 41 Squadron mostly remained out of the main conflict of the early stages of the Battle of Britain.

By the 15^th August 1940 the Luftwaffe attempted to stretch fighter command by sending fighter aircraft to attack the North of England which they believed to be mostly undefended. It was in this battle that Lock won his first victory shooting down a Bf 110 heavy fighter.

In September 1940 Number 41 Squadron was redeployed to RAF Hornchurch in Essex due to a need for more fighter aircraft in the South of England. On the 5^th September he successfully shot down two Heinkel He 111s, but upon following the second Heinkel down, he came under fire from a Messerschmitt Bf 109, damaging his Spitfire and wounding his leg.

The following day he ignored medical advice and the pain in his leg, as he took to the skies again and shot down a Ju 88 along with 2 Bf 109s and a Bf 110 on the 9^th September. These brought his total number of victories to 9 enemy aircraft destroyed, earning him the Distinguished Flying Cross.

Lock continued his performance against Axis aircraft, winning an additional 15 victories throughout the Battle of Britain earning him the Medal Bar for his Distinguished Flying Cross. Number 41 Squadron were given 4 weeks’ rotation rest after this intense period.

They returned to RAF Hornchurch at the start of October 1940. Lock’s victories continued soon after, winning on the 5^th October and the 9^th October. He shot down an additional 2 Bf 109’s on the 11^th October and 20^th October bringing his kill score up to 21, making him the most successful allied ace of the Battle of Britain.

Unfortunately, within six months of becoming one of the most famous plots of the RAF, his Spitfire crash landed in the English Channel after being damaged by ground fire. He was posted Missing in Action on the 3^rd August 1941 and was never seen again.

Welcome

Hello and welcome to our site which is dedicated to a collection of world history. The majority will be related to military history, but we will also include historical figures and events which we think you might find interesting. We will also try to cover some of the more obscure details of history, some of which you may not have come across before. But rest assured we will still be talking about the major conflicts and occurrences from pre-history to modern day.

 

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