Ching Shih – the most successful pirate in history

Ching Shih was a powerful pirate lord who lived between 1775 and 1844. This woman is considered to be the most successful pirate in history. Under her command her fleet engaged in conflict with the major nations of the time including the British Empire, Qing dynasty and Portuguese Empire. Yet how did this woman who started life as a prostitute rise to such power?

Unfortunately, not a lot is known about Ching Shih’s early life. We do know she was born in Guangdong province China in 1775 under the name Shih Yang. She worked in a floating brothel as a prostitute in Canton under the nickname Shih Heang Koo. It was while working here a pirate captain Zhèng Yi who commanded the notorious Red Flag Fleet noticed Ching Shih’s beauty and desired to be with her. There is some debate as to how Zhèng Yi and Ching Shih came to be married which has sadly been lost to history. Some believe it was as a result of Zhèng Yi ordering a raid on the brothel, while others believe it was a formal proposal on the condition Ching Shih would have some power within his fleet and obtain a share of the plunder. However, it happened, Ching Shih and Zhèng Yi began to lead the Red Flag Fleet together as husband and wife.

Under the couple’s leadership the Red Flag Fleet grew from 200 ships to more than 600, then growing even further under the Cantonese Pirate Coalition with former rivalling pirate fleets. Upon Zhèng Yi’s death on the 16^th November 1807 in Vietnam, only 6 years after their marriage presented Ching Shih an opportunity to rise to become a pirate lord herself. She could have stepped down allowing Zhèng Yi’s second in command to take control, however not wanting to return to a life of prostitution and herself craving glory took charge by obtaining the support of her husband’s most powerful family members. 

Once Ching Shih has taken control of the fleet she began the task of uniting the fleet by issuing a code of laws. This included all plunder having to be presented to the fleet before it could be distributed. Disobeying orders was punishable by beheading on the spot and no one was allowed to steal from villages that supplied their fleet. Furthermore Ching Shih set strict rules regarding the treatment of captured prisoners especially female ones. Any female captives who were considered “ugly” were to be released unharmed. But any pirate who wished to take a captive as his wife was free to do so as long as he remained faithful. Unfaithfulness and rape were both punishable by execution under her command.

Ching Shih and the Red Flag Fleet took control over many coastal villages stretching from Macau to Canton. Ching Shih was nicknamed “the Terror of South China” as she robbed towns, abducted people and executed others. She even had cruel punishments for those who resisted her, such as nailing rebels feet to her ship’s deck and beating them. The Chinese government in an attempt to defeat her engaged in a series of battles which ultimately led to Ching Shih taking over the government ships. Ching Shih’s reputation was growing as people believed she could not be defeated by the Qing dynasty, British or Portuguese.

Due to the appearance that they could not be defeated, the Chinese offered amnesty to all pirates in a hope of ending Ching Shih’s reign. In 1809 Ching Shih finally began to suffer a series of defeats at the hands of the Portuguese Navy at the Battle of the Tiger’s Mouth. In their final battle in 1810 at Chek Lap Kok the Red Flag Fleet surrendered to the Portuguese and took the amnesty offered by the Qing Imperial Government, which also allowed her to keep any loot they had obtained over the previous year.

Ching Shih gave birth to a son in 1813 and a daughter later on. In 1822 Ching Shih moved the family to Macau and opened a gambling house and brothel while also joining the salt trade. Later in her life she served as advisor to Lin Zexu during the First Opium War in battling the British Military in 1839. She reached the end of her life in her bed surrounded by her family in 1844 and the age of 69 having lived an extraordinary life in a very rags to riches story.

 

(Disclaimer – I do not own the images used in this article, they are purely for educational purposes and the rights belong to the original artists)

Battle of Kunyang 23AD

By the end of the Xin Dynasty, peasants all over China rebelled against the Xin Emperor Wang Mang for years of his incompetent rule. There were calls for the reestablishment of the Han Dynasty which had been over thrown by the Wang Mang. These voices were heard and the leaders of the rebellions Lulin supported Liu Xuan to be emperor of the new Han Dynasty.

The current emperor Wang Mang decided he must destroy the newly constituted Han regime before it could gain momentum. He sent his cousin Wang Yi and his prime minister Wang Xun with several hundred thousand men to attack the Lulin forces.

The Lulin forces were split into two. The first led by Wang Feng, Wang Chang and Liu Xiu while the other was led by Liu Yan. The first part of the Lulin forces were able to take the castles of Kunyang, Dingling and Yanxian, while the other part of the Lulin force had begun to attack Yangguan. However, after hearing of the arrival of the main body of the Xin forces, Liu Yan decided to retreat his forces to Kunyang.

The 9000 strong Lulin force in Kunyang were vastly outnumbered by the Xin armies. Many of the Lulin rebels wanted to scatter and retreat to Jingzhou but Liu Xiu opposed it. He advocated that they guard Kunyang securely as a scattered army would be easily picked off. Liu Xiu also promised to gather all other available troops in the surrounding areas and would attack the Xin forces outside the castle. With the Xin forces approaching, Liu Xiu led 13 horsemen out of Kunyang during the night to rally reinforcements from Dingling and Yanxian.

The Xin commander Wang Li was confident in his overwhelming numbers and stated his army would “annihilate all in his path, massacre the town and dance in its blood” and laid siege to Kunyang. Faced with siege towers and tunnels under the castle walls, the Kunyang defenders fought hard and held on until Liu Xiu returned with reinforcements of 10,000 footmen and cavalry.

By this point the Xin force’s morale was dropping while the Lulin force’s morale was at its peak with Liu’s return. Liu Xiu took a chance to lead 1000 men to engage the Xin forces while another force of 3000 men marched around to the rear of the Xin army and attacked their main camp.

Wang Li still underestimated the Lulin forces and led 10,000 men with Wang Xun to meet the enemy, while the rest of his men were ordered to stand their ground unless ordered to attack. Once Wang Xun was engaged in battle the other Xin forces as ordered were hesitant to assist them. As a result, Liu Xiu killed Wang Xun in battle, as of this moment the Lulin forces burst from the city and attacked the rest of the Xin units. Although having a much larger force, the Xin army suffered a total collapse and broke into retreat.

Unable to gather most of his men, Wang Yi had to withdraw with the remaining several thousand men back to Luoyang. The news of the battle of Kunyang spread throughout the empire and people simultaneously rose everywhere, often killing the local government officials and claiming to be officials under the new Han regime. Within a month, almost the entire empire had slipped out of Xin control. Eventually Liu Xiu managed to bring China back under Han Rule.

The Battle of the Ice 1242

The Battle of the Ice took place on the 5^th April 1242 during the Northern Crusades in Europe which were directed against Pagans and Eastern Orthodox Christians. This battle was fought between the Republic of Novgorod and the Livonian Order of the Teutonic Knights, and marked the end of the Crusaders campaigns against the Orthodox Novgorod Republic for the next century.

In the wake of the Mongol and Swedish invasions of the Novgorod Republic, the Teutonic Knights, in an attempt to exploit the nations weakened state, attacked in 1240 and occupied Pskov, Izborsk and Koporye. As the Teutonic Knights advanced deeper into the Republic’s territory, the local citizens called to the City of Novgorod itself the 20 year old Prince Alexander Nevsky who had been banished earlier that year.

Throughout his campaign in 1241 Alexander managed to retake Pskov and Koporye from the crusaders. In spring 1242 the Teutonic Knights defeated a detachment of Novgorodians before they met with Alexander’s forces at Lake Peipus (between modern day Estonia and Russia).

On April 5^th 1242 Alexander, intending to fight in a place of his choosing, retreated in an attempt to draw the over confident Crusaders onto the frozen lake. The Teutonic Knights charged across the lake at the Novgordian militia. The Novgordian force caused the crusader attack to slow, and successfully held the enemy force. A little after two hours of close quarter fighting, Alexander ordered the left and right wings of his army to enter the battle.

The crusader army by this time was exhausted from the fierce fighting on the icy surface and began to retreat in disarray further onto the ice, then the appearance of the fresh Novgorod troops and cavalry made them retreat in a panic.

The battle ended in a decisive victory for the Novgorod Republic. It halted the eastward expansion of the Teutonic Order and established a permanent border between Eastern Orthodoxy and Western Catholicism. The crusaders defeat at the hands of Alexander’s forces prevented the crusaders from retaking Pskov and leaving a lasting mark which made the crusaders never mount a serious challenge eastward again.

 

(The images used are artist’s interpretations of events and we do not own the rights to them, full credit to the owners of the images)

Battle of Kolubara 1914

On the 16^th November 1914 the battle of Kolubara began when the Austro-Hungarian armies, under the command of Oskar Potiorek, reached the Kolubara River during their third invasion of Serbia in 1914, after capturing the town of Vaijevo.

The Austro-Hungarians reached the Kolubara River on the 16^th November and launched an assault against the Serbian defensive positions there. The Serbs managed to force the Austro-Hungarians back and over the next five days they fought a series of battles suffering heavy casualties in heavy rain and snowfall, resulting in many soldiers succumbing to frostbite or hypothermia.

During the night of the 18^th November the Austro-Hungarians moved into position to carry out a further assault which began the following morning. The Austro-Hungarian’s main goal was to break through the defences of the Serbian army in order to drive them back towards the town of Gornji Milanovac, so they could capture the strategic town of Lazarevac. This town’s capture would give the Austro-Hungarian’s access to the Mladenovac railroad and an ability to outflank the Serbian forces guarding the road to Belgrade.

The Austro-Hungarian’s managed to capture the village of Vrace Brdo by the evening of the 19^th November and seized the higher ground from the Serbs in the South. The Serbian army was forced to retreat giving the Austro-Hungarian’s the ability to advance deeper into Serbia. By the 24^th November the Austrian commander Potiorek predicted that Serbia would be defeated within a matter of days.

Although the Serbian Army had put up fierce residence and inflicted heavy casualties on the Austro-Hungarians, the Serbian commander Putnik became concerned that his lines were over extended and began to plan for another strategic retreat, one which would include the evacuation of Belgrade. On the 29^th November 1914 the Serbian Supreme Command decided to abandon the capital Belgrade. On the 1^st December the Austro-Hungarian’s entered the city prompting celebrations in Vienna. They now believed that their war with Serbia would soon be over and began preparing for the countries occupation.

After the capture of Belgrade, it became increasingly clear to both Potiorek and Putnik that the Austro-Hungarian supply lines were over extended, so on December 1^st Potiorek ordered the advancing 6^th Army to wait for the 5^th army to secure the supply lines resulting in a pause of all Austro-Hungarian operations. The Serbians exploited this respite and withdrew the 1^st Serbian army from the front line allowing his soldiers time to rest. The Serbian’s then converged around Mount Rudnik where it received its long promised supplies from its allies. After he and his forces had rested and were resupplied, Putnik’s confidence in his forces ability to counterattack returned.

On December 2^nd 1914 Putnik ordered an attack on the Austro-Hungarian front line and told his officers that the offensive was solely for the purpose of raising Serbian morale. Determined to play his part, the Serbian king Peter I also took a rifle and accompanied his troops to the front. The attack caught the Austro-Hungarian’s completely by surprise who were at the time holding a military parade through the streets of Belgrade. The Austro-Hungarian’s had not prepared a defence for a Serbian counter attack as their artillery was positioned far behind the front line and could not be used in the defence. By the night of December 2^nd the Serbian’s had advanced far into Austro-Hungarian lines inflicting heavy casualties and taking many prisoners. The offensive’s initial success served to greatly enhance the morale of Serbian troops, just as Putnik had wanted. Significantly weakened, the Austro-Hungarians did not have time to recover before the offensive resumed the following morning and they were forced into retreat by the end of the day abandoning their weapons and equipment as they fled.

The Serbs anticipated that their opponents would entrench themselves and attempt to block the Serbian Army’s advance, but the Austro-Hungarians had failed to construct any defensive networks and were in no position to block the Serbian offensive. Their lack of prior preparation meant that the surrounding hills were devoid of any significant defensive positions. The Serbs exploited this weakness by maneuvering around the hills and encircling the Austro-Hungarians, suffering minimal casualties while breaking through.

By the 9^th December the Austro-Hungarian counter attack lost all momentum and began to retreat to the city center. On the 10^th December the Serbian’s captured the lower reaches of the Drina forcing the surviving Austro-Hungarian forces back across the river. By the 13^th December the Austro-Hungarian’s in Belgrade could not hold the city for much longer and were ordered to withdraw from the city. On the 15^th December the Serbian Army re-entered Belgrade and was in full control again by the following day.

Battle of Okehazama 1560

During the 1500s Japan was in Civil War with local warlords seeking control of the country. Imagawa Yoshimoto a leading warlord in the Tōkaidō Region of Japan, led 25,000 men to march on Kyoto. On the march they entered Oda territories belonging to the much weaker warlord Oda Nobunaga.

Imagawa Yoshimoto took the border fortresses of Washizu and Marune before setting up camp in the wooded gorge known as Dengaku-Hazama. Oda’s scouts reported all of this to Oda who then moved his own forces of 2000-3000 men into a temple called Zebshio-ji.

Oda Nobunaga’s force was heavily outnumbered and his own generals urged him to surrender. Oda however had a reputation for being reckless and unpredictable even thought of by some as being mentally unstable, he ignored the advice from his generals instead ordering a dummy army be constructed at Zensho-Ji with a large number of banners to give the impression this was to be the location of his main force.

Meanwhile Oda ordered an attack and led his main force of 2000 men through the forest undetected to the rear of the Imagawa Army camped at Dengaku-Hazama. The Imagawa samurai were celebrating their recent victories at camp and did not expect and attack. A thunderstorm that took place that night shielded Oda’s men’s advance.

As soon as the storm passed, Oda’s men charged into the camp onto the drunk and unprepared army who lost all discipline with large numbers fleeing from their attackers. They left the commander’s tent largely undefended and the Oda warriors closed in. Yoshimoto unaware of what was happening heard the noise and came outside to order his men to quit their drunken activities and return to their posts. By the time he realised that the samurai in front of him were not his own it was too late to organise a defence. Yoshimoto was attacked and although deflected their initial attacks was killed by two of Oda’s samurai Mori Shinsuke and Hattori Koheita.

With Imagawa Yoshimoto dead and only two senior officers left alive, the remaining Imagawa force joined Oda’s army. Soon after the Imagawa faction was no more and Oda Nobunaga was at the front of military power.

Invasion of Iceland

In 1918, after years of Danish rule Iceland became an independent state, but remained in union with Denmark. Iceland declared itself a neutral country without a defence force.

As World War Two developed the Germans launched Operation Weserubung on the 9^th April 1940, invading both Norway and Denmark. Denmark fell within a day and was occupied by the Germans. With Denmark defeated the British government sent Iceland’s government a message stating that Britain was willing to assist Iceland in maintaining her independence but would require facilities in Iceland to do so. Britain also invited Iceland to join the war as an ally, but they rejected Britain’s offer.

On April 12^th Britain took over the Faroe Islands. With the occupation of Norway and Denmark, the British became concerned that Germany would try to establish a military presence in Iceland which would be an intolerable threat to British control of the North Atlantic. The British were also very eager to obtain bases in Iceland to strengthen their Northern Patrol.

 

As the situation in Norway deteriorated, the British Admiralty came to the conclusion that Britain could no longer do without military bases in Iceland. On the 6^th May Churchill presented the case to the War Cabinet. Churchill maintained that if further negotiating with the Icelandic government were attempted, the Germans might learn of them and act first. A more effective solution was to land troops unannounced and present the Icelandic government with no other option.

The allies became increasingly concerned by the strategic importance of Iceland and the number of German diplomats present in the country. In an attempt to deny Iceland to the Germans, the British Royal Navy and Royal Marines took part in an operation, code named Operation Fork, on the 10^th May 1940 to invade Iceland.

The operation was organised hastily with much of the plan being conducted on route. The force had very few maps and most were of poor quality, including some drawn from memory, and no one in the force was fluent in Icelandic. The British intended to land all their forces at Reykjavik where they could overcome resistance and defeat local Germans. To guard against a German counterattack by sea, they would secure the harbor and send troops by land to nearby Hvalfjörður. The British were also worried that the Germans might airlift troops, as they had done with great success in Norway. To guard against this, troops would drive east to the landing grounds at Sandskeið and Kaldaðarnes. Lastly, troops would be sent by land to the harbor at Akureyri and the landing ground at Melgerði in the north of the country.

On May 3^rd 1940 the 2^nd Royal Marine Battalion in Surrey were made ready to move in two hours to an unknown destination. The troops were mostly new recruits and only partially trained. On May 7^th the force headed to the harbor at Greenock and made to board the cruisers Berwick and Glasgow. There were numerous delays and as a result, they didn’t leave until May 8^th and even left large amounts of equipment on the piers. The cruisers were not designed to take a force of this size and conditions were cramped. Despite good weather, most of the marines developed severe seasickness and one of the new recruits committed suicide on route.

At 01:47 on May 10^th, they launched a Supermarine Walrus reconnaissance aircraft to scout enemy submarines that the British were convinced were operating from Iceland’s harbors. Despite orders not to fly over Reykjavik itself, it flew several circles over the city making considerable noise, waking up a number of people and losing the element of surprise.

Werner Gerlach, the German consul was alerted to the aircraft and suspecting what was about to happen drove down to the harbor. Using his binoculars, he confirmed his fears before hurrying back home to arrange the burning of all his documents.

At 03:40 an Icelandic policeman saw a small fleet of warships approaching that were about to violate Icelandic neutrality. A boat loaded with 400 Marines landed at the harbor at 5am and a crowd had assembled along with several police. The locals were asked not to interfere with the British Troops so not to cause conflicts between them and the Icelanders, although some of the locals protested the British presence.

Operations began in Reykjavik, a notice was posted on the post office in broken Icelandic that British Forces were occupying the city and asked for cooperation in dealing with local Germans. The telecommunication and broadcasting services were quickly put under British control to prevent news of an invasion reaching Berlin.

Priority was put on finding the German consulate. British troops were relieved to meet no resistance and simply knocked on the consulate’s door. He protested against the British invasion saying Iceland was a neutral country, only to be reminded in turn that Denmark had also been a neutral country. The British discovered a fire upstairs with a pile of documents burning. They then extinguished this and were able to salvage a number of records. The British rounded up and captured the Germans in Iceland without resistance.

On the evening of 10th May, the government of Iceland issued a protest, charging that its neutrality had been “flagrantly violated” and “its independence infringed”, noting that compensation would be expected for all damage done. The British promised compensation, favorable business agreements, non-interference in Icelandic affairs, and the withdrawal of all forces at the end of the war. Resigning themselves to the situation, the Icelandic authorities provided the invasion force with de facto cooperation, though formally maintaining a policy of neutrality.

Although the British action was to forestall any risk of a German invasion, there is no evidence that the Germans had an invasion planned. After the British invasion, the Germans drew up a report to examine the feasibility of seizing Iceland. The report found that while an invasion could be successful, maintaining supply lines would be too costly and the benefits of holding Iceland would not outweigh the costs.

Battle of Islandbridge

In 919, a number of Irish Kings joined together to try and expel the Vikings from Dublin once more. The native Irish coalition was led by Niall Glúndub, overking of Northern Ui Néill and High King of Ireland against the Dublin Based Vikings of the Uí Ímair led by Sitric Cáech.

The ruling Vikings of Dublin had been expelled from the city in 902, however this was only temporary and Viking raids continued into Irish settlements.

In 914, a large fleet came to the previously Viking held city of Waterford and in the following year more settled in Limerick.

In 917 two prominent members of the Vikings of Uí Ímair, Ragnall and Sitric Cáech sailed two fleets to Ireland. Ragnall landed in Waterford and Sitric landed at Cenn Fuait in Leinster. Several Irish kings joined forces to try and drive the Vikings away again. At the Battle of Mag Femen in Brega the Vikings won a great Victory over the Irish forces and then another at Cenn Fuait. Sitric led his men on a triumphant return to Dublin re-establishing Viking control and installing himself as King while Ragnall returned to England.

In 919, the Irish Kings Niall Glúndub of Northern Ui Néill, Áed mac Eochocáin of Ulster, Máel Mithig mac Flannacain of Brega, Mael Craibe mac Duibsinig of Airgilla, Conchobarmac Flann of Mide and Cellach mac Fogartaig of South Brega intended to push the Vikings from Dublin. The Irish Kings were emboldened by the departure of Ragnall back to England and marched against the Vikings.

The Irish forces and Vikings met near Islandbridge (modern day County Dublin) on the 14^th September 919. The battle was a disaster for the Irish, the Kings Niall Glúndub, Áed mac Eochocáin, Máel Mithig mac Flannacain, Mael Craibe mac Duibsinig, Conchobar mac Flainn and Cellach mac Fogartaig were all slain in the battle along with many Irish nobles. The failure of the coalition to drive out the Vikings ensured their hold on Dublin remained strong until 1014.

 

 

(I do not own the rights to the images used, they are artist’s own impressions)

The Battle of Vienna 1683

The battle of Vienna is one of the most significant battles in European History, it took place in September 1683 between the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, the Holy Roman Empire and Habsburg Hungry against the Ottoman Empire. This battle is largely marked as the end of the Ottoman invasions into Europe.

The Ottoman Empire wanted to take the City of Vienna for its control over the Black Sea to Western Europe, Southern Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean to Germany’s trade routes. The Ottomans repaired and established roads and bridges leading to the Holy Roman Empire as well as moving cannons and ammunition into the Balkans.

The Holy Roman Empire made an alliance with the Polish in 1683 called the Treaty of Warsaw. In this treaty it promised that the Holy Roman Empire would support Poland if the Ottomans attacked Krakow and in return the Polish would come if Vienna was attacked.

On the 14^th July 1683 the Ottoman army of 150,000 men laid siege to Vienna. Kara Mustafa Pasha who led the Ottoman force ordered his men to dig trenches towards to the city to help protect his troops from the defenders cannons as they advanced. In order to take the city the Ottomans mined tunnels under the city walls to blow them up using large amounts of Black Powder. However the defenders knocked down large trees to help bolster the old palisade delaying the Ottoman attack. This greatly helped in creating enough time for a relief force to arrive in September.

On September 6^th the Polish under King John III Sobieski crossed the Danube northwest of Vienna at Tulin to join the Imperial troops of the Holy Roman Empire along with soldiers from Saxony, Bavaria, Badan, Franconia and Swabia, giving the Polish King 70,000 men under his command.

The relief army were racing against time to save the city and created an effective leadership structured around the Polish King and the Winged Hussars.

On September 12^th the Ottoman force attacked trying to disrupt the Holy Leagues Troops. The German forces were the first to counterattack. The Imperial Army attacked on the left and Centre and after heavy fighting managed to take several key positions from the Ottomans by noon.

The Ottoman force largely focused on taking Vienna still however, their sappers prepared a large final detonation to breach the walls with a total of 10 mines set to explode. The defenders were able to locate and disarm these mines while the Ottoman force was occupied with the relief forces.

On the Right Flank of the Ottoman army the Polish advanced and managed to take the village of Gersthof which would serve as a strong position for a cavalry charge. The Ottomans were now in a desperate position caught between the Imperial and Polish Forces who by 5pm had now become very close to the Central Turkish position.

The Polish Cavalry now arrived onto the battlefield with cheers from the infantry. This was to be the final blow. The Polish King ordered the cavalry attack in 4 groups. Three of these Polish and one from the Holy Roman Empire. 18,000 horseman charged down the hills creating the largest cavalry charge ever recorded in history led by the legendary Polish Winged Hussars. The charge easily broke through the Ottomans lines who soon began to leave the battlefield. The cavalry headed for the Ottoman Camps and Kara Mustafa’s headquarters, and the remaining Viennese garrison charged out of their defences to join the attack. Less than three hours after the cavalry charge, the Christian armies had been victorious and saved Vienna.

 

This casualties of this battle totalled 8000-15,000 Ottomans killed and 5000 captured, 12,000 dead or wounded defenders and 4500 dead or wounded Holy League Troops.

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.