A woman with a sword, from a Medieval manuscript.

Women have participated in warfare in a variety of ways in different times and places. This is a list of some notable events related to this. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (560x876, 559 KB) Summary Illustration of a woman wielding a sword in battle, from a Medieval manuscript. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (560x876, 559 KB) Summary Illustration of a woman wielding a sword in battle, from a Medieval manuscript. ... The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times. ...

The Amazons

• The Amazons, a legendary tribe of warrior women.

In Greek mythology, the , Amazons were either an ancient legendary nation of female warriors or a land dominated by women at the outer edges of their known world. ... In Greek mythology, the , Amazons were either an ancient legendary nation of female warriors or a land dominated by women at the outer edges of their known world. ...

Ancient Greece

• 6th century BC - Telesilla (a warrior poet) defended the city of Argos by rallying women with war songs.
• 480 BC Artemisia, Queen of Halicarnassus, participates in the Battle of Salamis

Ancient Greece is the term used to describe the Greek-speaking world in ancient times. ... Telesilla, Greek poetess, a native of Argos, one of the so-called nine lyric muses. ... Argos (Greek: Άργος, Árgos, IPA argos) is a city in Greece in the Peloponnese near Nafplio, which was its historic harbor, named for Nauplius. ... Events King Xerxes I of Persia sets out to conquer Greece. ... Artemisia was the name of two queens of Halicarnassus in the 5th century BC and 4th century BC. The first Artemisia was the daughter of Lygdamis and was set up as the tyrant of Halicarnassus by the Persians, who were at the time the overlords of Ionia, after the death... Map of the Aegean Sea, showing the location of Halicarnassus (modern Bodrum, Turkey) Halicarnassus (; modern Bodrum; see also List of traditional Greek place names), an ancient Greek city on the southwest coast of Caria, Asia Minor, on a picturesque and advantageous site on the Ceramic Gulf (Gulf of Cos, Gulf... Combatants Greek city-states Persia Halicarnassus Commanders Eurybiades of Sparta Themistocles of Athens Adeimantus of Corinth Aristides of Athens Xerxes I of Persia Ariamenes † Artemisia Strength 371 ships 1207 ships Casualties 40 ships 200 ships The Battle of Salamis was a naval battle between the Greek city-states and Persia...

Roman Republic and Empire

• Fulvia, wife of Mark Antony, organizes an uprising against Augustus
• Boudica, a Celtic chieftain in Britain, leads an uprising against the occupying Roman forces.
• Zenobia leads a revolt in the East against the Roman Empire

See also Roman Republic (18th century) and Roman Republic (19th century). ... For other uses, see Roman Empire (disambiguation). ... Fulvia (died 40 BC) was a Roman matron remembered by her ambition and political activity, in a time when women were expected to stay home and live with virtue and modesty, according to Roman morals. ... For his relatives and other people with similar names, see Marcus Antonius (disambiguation). ... Caesar Augustus (Latin:Imperator Caesari Divi Filius Augustus) ¹ (23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), known to modern historians as Octavian for the period of his life prior to 27 BC, was the first and one of the most important Roman Emperors, though he downplayed his own position by... Statue of Boudica near Westminster Pier Boudica (also Boudicca, Boadicea, Buduica, Bonduca) (d. ... Zenobia coin reporting her title, Augusta. ...

China

• Hua Mulan becomes an officer of an ancient Chinese army in her father's place
• 6th century BC A story about Sun Tzu describes how Ho Lu, King of Wu, tests his skill by ordering him to train an army of 180 ladies.

Oil painting on silk, Hua Mulan Goes to War Hua Mulan (Traditional Chinese: 花木蘭; Simplified Chinese: 花木兰; Pinyin: ) is the heroine who joined an all-male army described in a famous Chinese non-fictional poem written during the period of the Northern Dynasties (420-589) and first collected in Yuefu, the Song... (2nd millennium BC - 1st millennium BC - 1st millennium) // Overview The 5th and 6th centuries BC were a time of empires, but more importantly, a time of learning and philosophy. ... Sun Tzu (孫子 also commonly written in pinyin: Sūn Zǐ) was the author of The Art of War, an influential ancient Chinese book on military strategy (for the most part not dealing directly with tactics). ...

Africa

• 960 Gudit (alias Judith, Esato, Gwedit, Yodit) - African rebel queen

Events Edgar the Peaceable crowned King of England. ... Gudit (or Judith; also known as Esato) is a semi-legendary non-Christian queen (flourished c. ...

Eleventh to Sixteenth century

• 1081 Sikelgaita fights in the Battle of Dyrrhachium; Anna Comnena calls her "a second Athena"
• 1140s Eleanor of Aquitaine participates in the Second Crusade
• 1346 Joanna of Flanders, Countess of Montfort, defends the rights of her son John V, Duke of Brittany in the Breton War of Succession During the same war, the opposition was led for a time by Countess Jeanne de Penthievre.
• 1429 Joan of Arc led the French army.
• 1541 Inés Suárez, come to America to search her husband, fights with Pedro de Valdivia in Chile.
• 1572 In defence of the city during a siege of Haarlem by Spanish troops, which lasted from December 1572 to 1573, Kenau Simonsdochter Hasselaer (1526-1588) supplied the Dutch forces with wood. She owned a wood company at Haarlem. Myth says she led a force of women defending the city and ever since a "kenau" is a Dutch expression for a harsh woman.

Events Corfu taken from Byzantine Empire by Robert Guiscard, Italy Byzantine emperor Nicephorus III is overthrown by Alexius I Comnenus, ending the Middle Byzantine period and beginning the Comnenan dynasty Alexius I helps defend Albania from the Normans (the first recorded mention of Albania), but is defeated at the Battle... Sikelgaita (1040-April 16, 1090) was a Lombard princess, the second wife of Robert Guiscard. ... The Battle of Dyrrhachium took place on October 18, 1081 between the Byzantine Empire, led by Alexius I, and the Normans under Robert Guiscard. ... Anna Comnena (December 1, 1083 - 1153) was a daughter of the Byzantine emperor Alexius I Comnenus, and is the first known female historian. ... Centuries: 11th century - 12th century - 13th century Decades: 1090s 1100s 1110s 1120s 1130s - 1140s - 1150s 1160s 1170s 1180s 1190s Years: 1140 1141 1142 1143 1144 1145 1146 1147 1148 1149 Events and Trends Abbot Suger rebuilds the monastery of St Denis outside Paris, seen as the initiation of the Gothic... Eleanor of Aquitaine Eleanor of Aquitaine (1122 – March 31, 1204) was one of the wealthiest and most powerful women in Europe during the High Middle Ages. ... The Second Crusade was the second major crusade launched from Europe, called in 1145 in response to the fall of the County of Edessa the previous year. ... // Events Serbian Empire was proclaimed in Skopje by Dusan Silni, occupying much of the South-Eastern Europe Foundation of the University of Valladolid Foundation of Pembroke College, University of Cambridge August 26 Battle of Crecy after which Edward the Black Prince honored the bravery of John I, Count of Luxemburg... Joanna of Flanders (1295 - 1374) was consort Duchess of Brittany by her marriage to John IV, Duke of Brittany. ... John V (in French Jean V) (1339 – November 1, 1399), known as the Conqueror, was duke of Brittany and count of Montfort, from 1345 to his death. ... The Breton War of Succession was a conflict between the Houses of Blois and Montfort for control of the Duchy of Brittany. ... Joanna of Dreux (in French Jeanne de Dreux, la Boiteuse) (1319-1384) was countess of Penthievre and nominal Duchess of Brittany during the Breton War of Succession. ... Events January 10 - Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, founds the European Order of the Golden Fleece February 12 - Battle of Rouvray (or of the Herrings). English Forces under Sir John Fastolf defend a supply convoy carrying rations to the Earl of Suffolks army at Orleans from attack by... Joan of Arc, c. ... Events The first official translation of the entire Bible in Swedish February 12 - Pedro de Valdivia founds Santiago de Chile. ... Inés de Suárez (1507(?) - 1580) was a Spanish conquistadora (female conquistador). ... Pedro de Valdivia Pedro de Valdivia (c. ... Events January 16 - Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk is tried for treason for his part in the Ridolfi plot to restore Catholicism in England. ... In the Eighty Years War the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands was put under a bloody siege by a Spanish army that wanted to reclaim the revolted city for Philip II, the Spanish king. ... Kenau Simonsdochter Hasselaer was born in 1526. ...

Dahomey

• From the 17th century up to 1894 the Dahomey Amazons were an all female regiment (under female command) of the west African Kingdom of Dahomey.

(16th century - 17th century - 18th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 17th century was that century which lasted from 1601-1700. ... 1894 (MDCCCXCIV) was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... The Dahomey Amazons were a Fon all-female military regiment of the Kingdom of Dahomey (now Benin) which lasted until end of the 19th century. ... Dahomey was a kingdom in Africa, situated in what is now the nation of Benin. ...

Russia

• 1807 - Nadezhda Durova earns the cross of St. George for valor in combat and becomes the Russian army's first female officer.

1807 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Nadeshda Durova in officers uniform Nadezhda Andreyevna Durova (Russian: ) also known as Alexander Durov, Alexander Sokolov and Alexander Andreevich Alexandrov (1783, Kiev - March 21, 1866, Yelabuga ) was a woman who became a decorated soldier in the Russian cavalry during the Napoleonic wars. ...

Crimea

• 1854 - Florence Nightingale (a British nurse) revolutionises both the care of sick soldiers in the Crimean War, but also expectations of the role of women of her status.

1854 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Florence Nightingale, OM (12 May 1820 – 13 August 1910), who came to be known as The Lady with the Lamp, was a pioneer of modern nursing. ... Combatants United Kingdom, France, Ottoman Empire, Sardinia Imperial Russia Strength 250,000 British 400,000 French 10,000 Sardinian 1,200,000 Russian Casualties 17,500 British 30,000 French 2,050 Sardinian killed and wounded 256,000 killed and wounded The Crimean War lasted from 28 March 1854 until...

Bulgaria

• 1912 - Rayna Kasabova during the Balkan War was the first woman to fly as observer on combat missions in the history of military aviation. She carried out a number of sorties droping propaganda materials and bombs on Turkish positions during the siege of Adrianople.

1912 (MCMXII) was a leap year starting on Monday in the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Tuesday in the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Rayna Kasabova was a Bulgarian girl and among the first women pilots in the world. ... The Balkan Wars were two wars in South-eastern Europe in 1912-1913 in the course of which the Balkan League (Serbia, Montenegro, Greece, and Bulgaria) first conquered Ottoman-held Macedonia and most of Thrace and then fell out over the division of the spoils, Bulgaria suffering defeat at the... Sortie is a term for deployment of aircraft or ships for the purposes of a specific mission. ... Selimiye Mosque, built by Sinan in 1575 Edirne is a city in Thrace, the westernmost part of Turkey, close to the borders with Greece and Bulgaria. ...

Poland

• 1809 - Joanna Żubr received the Virtuti Militari as the first woman to be granted the highest Polish military award.

1809 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Joanna Żubr (ca. ... Order of Virtuti Militari The Order of Virtuti Militari (Latin: For Military Valor) is Polands highest military decoration for valor in the face of the enemy. ...

United States

• 1778 - Molly Pitcher - Born Mary Ludwig in 1754, she married John Hays in 1769. Her husband fought for the Continental Army at the Battle of Monmouth (New Jersey) on June 28, 1778. During the battle, she brought pitchers of water to her husband and fellow soldiers, thus earning the appellation Molly Pitcher. When her husband succumbed to exhaustion, she picked up his rifle and fought against the British.
• 1861 - Dr. Mary Walker was a doctor with the Union Army at the First Battle of Bull Run (Manassas) and three later major engagements and her duty led to her being awarded the Medal of Honor, the only woman to win the Medal of Honor in United States history.
• 2006 - Major Tammy Duckworth became the first female combat veteran to be nominated for Congress.

1778 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Molly Pitcher was a nickname. ... Illustration depicting uniforms and weapons used during the 1779 to 1783 period of the American Revolution by showing four soldiers standing in an informal group General George Washington, was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army on June 15, 1775. ... The Battle of Monmouth was an inconclusive battle of the American Revolutionary War fought on June 28, 1778. ... (Some entries on this page have been duplicated on August 1. ... 1861 is a common year starting on Tuesday. ... Dr. Mary Edwards Walker, ca 1870. ... Three different versions of the Medal of Honor are awarded: one each for the Army, Navy, and Air Force. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Major is a military rank denoting an officer of mid-level command status. ... Tammy Duckworth, former Black Hawk Helicopter Pilot Ladda Tammy Duckworth (b. ... A congress is a gathering of people, especially a gathering for a political purpose. ...

Romania

• 1916 - Ecaterina Teodoroiu was a Romanian Heroine who fought and died in WW1.

1916 (MCMXVI) is a leap year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar) // Events January-February January 1 - The Royal Army Medical Corps first successful blood transfusion using blood that had been stored and cooled. ... Ecaterina Teodoroiu (January 16, 1894 - August 22, 1917) was a Romanian woman who fought and died in World War I, and is regarded as a heroine. ... Ypres, 1917, in the vicinity of the Battle of Passchendaele. ...

Turkey

• 1937 - During the Dersim uprising, Sabiha Gökçen, the first female aviator in Turkey carried out sorties in operations against the guerrillas.

1937 (MCMXXXVII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... Shows the Location of the Province Tunceli Tunceli is a province in eastern Turkey. ... Sabiha Gökçen with Mustafa Kemal Atatürk Sabiha Gökçen (March 21, 1913, Bursa - March 22, 2001, Ankara) was the first Turkish female aviator and the first female combat pilot of the world. ... An aviator is a person who flies aircraft for pleasure or as a profession. ... Sortie is a term for deployment of aircraft or ships for the purposes of a specific mission. ... Guerrilla War redirects here. ...

World War II

• The Soviet forces had a significant number of women serving, including an entire air force regiment of female fighter pilots, the 588th Night Bombers. The 588th was horribly feared by the Germans who called them, "Night Witches". There are also accounts of very successful female snipers, including Lyudmila Pavlichenko.
• Many women served in the French Resistance, Polish Resistance and Italian Resistance in World War II.
• American women perform many varieties of non-combat military service in special units such as the WAVES, Women's Army Corps and Women's Auxiliary Air Force.

Lyudmila Pavlichenko. ... The French Resistance is the name used for resistance movements that fought military occupation of France by Nazi Germany and the Vichy France undemocratic regime during World War II after the government and the high command of France surrendered in 1940. ... This article covers the Secret State of Poland during World War II. For the earlier secret state in Poland see: January Uprising This article is part of the series: Polish Secret State Categories: Historical stubs | Polish history | World War II resistance movements | National liberation movements ... Partisans parading in Milan The Italian resistance movement was a partisan force during World War II. It became massive after the capitulation of the Italian Royal Army on September 8, 1943. ... Combatants Allies: • Poland, • UK & Commonwealth, • France/Free France, • Soviet Union, • USA, • China, ...and others Axis: • Germany, • Italy, • Japan, ...and others Casualties Military dead: 17 million Civilian dead: 33 million Total: 50 million Full list Military dead: 8 million Civilian dead: 4 million Total: 12 million Full list World War II... A WAVES Photographer 3rd Class The WAVES were a World War II era division of the U.S. Navy that consisted entirely of women. ... WACs operate Teletype machines during World War II. The Womens Army Corps (WAC) was a special unit of the United States Army during World War II and thereafter which organized the female enlisted personnel. ... The U.S. Womens Auxiliary Air Force was created in June of 1939. ...

Twentieth century

• May 14, 1948 - The Israeli Defense Force is founded. Several women transport pilots served in the 1948 war of independence and "Operation Kadesh" in 1956), but later the Air Force closed its ranks to female pilots. There is a draft of both men and women. Most women serve in non-combat positions, and are conscripted for only 2 years (instead of three for men). Israel remains the only country to conscript women. However, they were largely barred from combat until a landmark high court appeal in 1994, which forced the Air Force to accept women air cadets. In 2001, Israel's first female combat pilot received her wings. Until 2005, up to 83% of positions in the Israeli army were open to women, and today, they serve in combat positions in the Artillery, frontier guards and on Navy ships. Combat duty is voluntary for women.

May 14 is the 134th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (135th in leap years). ... 1948 (MCMXLVIII) was a leap year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1948 calendar). ... The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) (Hebrew: צבא ההגנה לישראל Tsva Ha-Haganah Le-Yisrael ([Army] Force [for] the Defense of Israel), often abbreviated צהל Tsahal, alternative English spelling Tzahal, is the name of Israels armed forces (army, air force and navy). ... The 1948 Arab-Israeli War is referred to as the War of Independence (Hebrew: מלחמת העצמאות) or as the War of Liberation (Hebrew: מלחמת השחרור) by Israelis. ... (Redirected from 1956 Suez War) The Suez Crisis, also known as the Suez War, Suez Campaign or Kadesh Operation was a war fought on Egyptian territory in 1956. ... Historically, artillery refers to any engine used for the discharge of projectiles during war. ...

21st Century

• 2003 - Brig. Gen. Janis Karpinski is in charge of the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, where prisoners were abused.
• 2003 - Jessica Lynch, a U.S. soldier, is embroiled in a controversy over differing accounts of her capture and rescue in Iraq.
• 2003 - Lori Piestewa, a U.S. soldier, dies in combat after fully discharging her weapon and throwing it at an Iraqi soldier.

2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Janis Karpinski wearing her Brigadier General star before being demoted to Colonel Janis Leigh Karpinski (born May 25, 1953, Rahway, New Jersey) is a United States Army Colonel in the 800th Military Police Brigade. ... Map of Iraq highlighting Abu Ghraib The Abu Ghraib prison (Arabic: سجن أبو غريب; also Abu Ghurayb) is in Abu Ghraib, an Iraqi city 32 km (19. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... An undated photo of US Army PFC Jessica Lynch (DoD photo) Jessica Lynch (born April 26, 1983 in Palestine, West Virginia), a Quartermaster Corps Private First Class (PFC) in the United States Army, was a prisoner of war of the Iraqi military in the 2003 invasion of Iraq who was... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Pfc. ...

External links

• Joan of Arc Archive
• She died fighting