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Forgotten Warriors: The Long History of Women in Combat
The definitive history of women in war, revealing how women have always been an essential part of combat
From Boudicca’s rebellion to the war in Ukraine, battlefields have always contained a surprising number of women. Some formed all-female armies, like the Dahomey Mino of West Africa; some fought disguised as men; some mobilized in times of national survival, like the Soviet flying aces known as the Night Witches. International relations expert Sarah Percy unearths the stories of these forgotten warriors. She sets the historical record straight, revealing that women’s exclusion from active combat in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries is a blip in a much longer narrative of female inclusion. Deeply researched and brilliantly told, Forgotten Warriors turns the notion of war as a man’s game on its head and restores women to their rightful place on the front lines of history.
From Boudicca’s rebellion to the war in Ukraine, battlefields have always contained a surprising number of women. Some formed all-female armies, like the Dahomey Mino of West Africa; some fought disguised as men; some mobilized in times of national survival, like the Soviet flying aces known as the Night Witches. International relations expert Sarah Percy unearths the stories of these forgotten warriors. She sets the historical record straight, revealing that women’s exclusion from active combat in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries is a blip in a much longer narrative of female inclusion. Deeply researched and brilliantly told, Forgotten Warriors turns the notion of war as a man’s game on its head and restores women to their rightful place on the front lines of history.
432 pages, Hardcover
Published September 26, 2023
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
March 1, 2024
(4.5 stars) Quality history about the role of women in combat, and how they have had to fight against a male-dominated military as much as they would have to engage in conflict against an adversary. It doesn’t cover all of human conflict history, but Percy does offer examples of women being superior commanders and fighters. Along with the specific tales of great warriors, she also offers insight into the role of women in militaries, primarily European-based forces, as “camp followers”, nurse and support-type personnel. One cannot escape the role of sex and sexual relations in conflict, but Percy does not make the central part of her thesis.
The majority of the book covers World War I to the present. Much of the concepts discussed earlier are revisited, but it is during World War I that the clear divides of making war for men vs. women becomes evident. The rest of the book focuses on the history of women in combat from World War II to the present day, but noting that women have had to fight against the perceptions that they do not belong in combat and that their service is not worth mentioning. Never mind that results across counties and conflicts say otherwise.
This is a solid work to read and the rating would be the same regardless of format. Perhaps a bit overbalanced to the 20th and 21st century, but that could be a result of more source material being available for that time frame. Some may take issue with the whole “feminist-thing” and forcing women upon the military, but in combat, you look and leverage any and all resources. To artificially exclude a fighting capability, especially if they can be trained and can more than carry out a mission is a recipe for defeat. Definitely worth the time to read.
The majority of the book covers World War I to the present. Much of the concepts discussed earlier are revisited, but it is during World War I that the clear divides of making war for men vs. women becomes evident. The rest of the book focuses on the history of women in combat from World War II to the present day, but noting that women have had to fight against the perceptions that they do not belong in combat and that their service is not worth mentioning. Never mind that results across counties and conflicts say otherwise.
This is a solid work to read and the rating would be the same regardless of format. Perhaps a bit overbalanced to the 20th and 21st century, but that could be a result of more source material being available for that time frame. Some may take issue with the whole “feminist-thing” and forcing women upon the military, but in combat, you look and leverage any and all resources. To artificially exclude a fighting capability, especially if they can be trained and can more than carry out a mission is a recipe for defeat. Definitely worth the time to read.
November 2, 2023
This was an utterly fascinating read in how women were erased from the front lines of war. Which historically, as this book demonstrates, is a relatively new occurrence.
Sarah Percy writes intricately on how women were cut out during the twentieth century incarnation of warfare. Even occasions where they did participate they were either ignored (the Soviet Union post World War Two treated their female veterans appallingly) or covered up (the SOE and the all female maned battery in the United States). The myths of mateship and brotherhood were emphasised and over-embelished and then thoroughly broken-down with the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.
Percy also looks at how women participated in warfare in non-western organisations, already breaking down the myths that Western Militaries continued to perpetuate long into the nineties and two thousands. The myth is so persuasive that it colours the assumptions of discoveries of antiquity as Percy discusses in the introduction over the grave of a Viking warrior.
The author seems to get a bit bogged down in the messiness of the role of women during World War Two, various players having their own chapters because the views and needs of the various militaries varied so greatly. It's still interesting but it does seem to get a bit tedious and repetitive with the reiteration of how society viewed women at the time.
Still. A great read.
Sarah Percy writes intricately on how women were cut out during the twentieth century incarnation of warfare. Even occasions where they did participate they were either ignored (the Soviet Union post World War Two treated their female veterans appallingly) or covered up (the SOE and the all female maned battery in the United States). The myths of mateship and brotherhood were emphasised and over-embelished and then thoroughly broken-down with the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.
Percy also looks at how women participated in warfare in non-western organisations, already breaking down the myths that Western Militaries continued to perpetuate long into the nineties and two thousands. The myth is so persuasive that it colours the assumptions of discoveries of antiquity as Percy discusses in the introduction over the grave of a Viking warrior.
The author seems to get a bit bogged down in the messiness of the role of women during World War Two, various players having their own chapters because the views and needs of the various militaries varied so greatly. It's still interesting but it does seem to get a bit tedious and repetitive with the reiteration of how society viewed women at the time.
Still. A great read.
August 28, 2023
Should women be allowed in comabt? Sarah Percy's Forgotten Warriors replies, "they already have been, dummy." Sure, I'm paraphrasing, but I do believe that is the gist.
Percy's book looks at the women warriors from the time of Boudicca to today. She looks at the arguments and strategies used to keep women (unsuccessfully) away from the front lines and how women performed under some of the worst conditions possible. If you are looking for a book with a gigantic scope then you need look no further. However, scope is also a big problem.
I should disclose that I was a member of the U.S. Army and served beside women my whole career. Quite simply, my mind was already made up about this subject before I opened it. You won't find me among the group of people who say, "women can't hack it." Percy clearly agrees with me and states that. The problem is she states it a bit too often without fully dissecting the arguments against women in combat. To be clear, she doesn't shy away from the arguments. She just doesn't dig deep enough. I don't think this narrative would win any converts, but as I stated, I'm already on the, "I don't give a damn as long as you can do your job," team.
The scope of Percy's work is also a problem when she deals with specific examples of women in combat. Unfortunately, she left me wanting more in the wrong way. I'd love to read a book written by Percy on Joan of Arc or Brenda Berkman. The issue is that they get so little attention because Percy needs to keep moving to cover everything she wants to cover. For example, I now know Joan of Arc was preternaturally good with gunpowder. However, I can't tell you how she used that to the French advantage because we were on to the next example. There are details missing from these stories that hurt the overall flow of the book.
Ultimately, I enjoyed Forgotten Warriors but I was distracted too often by what the book could have been either as a full takedown of an old policy or as a spotlight for specific women combatants. If you think it looks interesting, you should read it.
Percy's book looks at the women warriors from the time of Boudicca to today. She looks at the arguments and strategies used to keep women (unsuccessfully) away from the front lines and how women performed under some of the worst conditions possible. If you are looking for a book with a gigantic scope then you need look no further. However, scope is also a big problem.
I should disclose that I was a member of the U.S. Army and served beside women my whole career. Quite simply, my mind was already made up about this subject before I opened it. You won't find me among the group of people who say, "women can't hack it." Percy clearly agrees with me and states that. The problem is she states it a bit too often without fully dissecting the arguments against women in combat. To be clear, she doesn't shy away from the arguments. She just doesn't dig deep enough. I don't think this narrative would win any converts, but as I stated, I'm already on the, "I don't give a damn as long as you can do your job," team.
The scope of Percy's work is also a problem when she deals with specific examples of women in combat. Unfortunately, she left me wanting more in the wrong way. I'd love to read a book written by Percy on Joan of Arc or Brenda Berkman. The issue is that they get so little attention because Percy needs to keep moving to cover everything she wants to cover. For example, I now know Joan of Arc was preternaturally good with gunpowder. However, I can't tell you how she used that to the French advantage because we were on to the next example. There are details missing from these stories that hurt the overall flow of the book.
Ultimately, I enjoyed Forgotten Warriors but I was distracted too often by what the book could have been either as a full takedown of an old policy or as a spotlight for specific women combatants. If you think it looks interesting, you should read it.
August 11, 2023
‘From the Amazons to the Ukraine conflict, women have always been on the frontline of war: this is their surprising and heroic history.
From Boudicca to Ukraine, battlefields have always contained a surprising number of women. Tracing the long history of female fighters, Forgotten Warriors puts the record straight, exploring how war became an all-male space, and getting to the bottom of why women were allowed to be astronauts a full thirty years before they were allowed to fight in combat.
From the Mino, the all-female army that protected Dahomey from the West for two hundred years to the Night Witches, Soviet flying aces that decimated the Nazis; from the real story of Joan of Arc to the cross-dressing soldiers whose disguises were so effective the men around them never realized who they were fighting with, Sarah Percy shines a fascinating new light on the history of warfare. And 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.
Every country has their tomb to the unknown warrior, picking out one unnamed body to represent the sacrifices of thousands of others. As Forgotten Warriors shows, those overlooked soldiers could well be female. Their heroic and compelling stories need to be heard.’
This book was fascinating.
As someone with an interest in military history, I was excited to get my hands on this book and I am very happy to say it was everything I had hoped it would be and so much more.
Going into this book I thought I had an understanding of the history of female participation in combat but it turns out I was very wrong. I was genuinely surprised by how much I learned from this book and I was shocked to learn about just how many women had participated in wars and had just been erased from military history and thrown back into civilian life.
The way in which these amazing women fought and at times died for what they believed in only to have their service and sacrifices diminished was really heartbreaking to read about. Learning about the way in which men, militaries, and governments spoke about, treated and even changed laws to prevent women from being soldiers was absolutely mindblowing.
Sarah Percy has done a phenomenal job with this book. It was factual but easy to read. She provided enough background information on each conflict in order to understand the cultures at the time, and her ability to do all of this while keeping this book grounded in emotion made for a fantastic reading and learning experience.
Forgotten Warriors by Sarah Percy is an absolute must-read for everyone.
Geramie Kate Barker
gemsbooknook.wordpress.com
From Boudicca to Ukraine, battlefields have always contained a surprising number of women. Tracing the long history of female fighters, Forgotten Warriors puts the record straight, exploring how war became an all-male space, and getting to the bottom of why women were allowed to be astronauts a full thirty years before they were allowed to fight in combat.
From the Mino, the all-female army that protected Dahomey from the West for two hundred years to the Night Witches, Soviet flying aces that decimated the Nazis; from the real story of Joan of Arc to the cross-dressing soldiers whose disguises were so effective the men around them never realized who they were fighting with, Sarah Percy shines a fascinating new light on the history of warfare. And 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.
Every country has their tomb to the unknown warrior, picking out one unnamed body to represent the sacrifices of thousands of others. As Forgotten Warriors shows, those overlooked soldiers could well be female. Their heroic and compelling stories need to be heard.’
This book was fascinating.
As someone with an interest in military history, I was excited to get my hands on this book and I am very happy to say it was everything I had hoped it would be and so much more.
Going into this book I thought I had an understanding of the history of female participation in combat but it turns out I was very wrong. I was genuinely surprised by how much I learned from this book and I was shocked to learn about just how many women had participated in wars and had just been erased from military history and thrown back into civilian life.
The way in which these amazing women fought and at times died for what they believed in only to have their service and sacrifices diminished was really heartbreaking to read about. Learning about the way in which men, militaries, and governments spoke about, treated and even changed laws to prevent women from being soldiers was absolutely mindblowing.
Sarah Percy has done a phenomenal job with this book. It was factual but easy to read. She provided enough background information on each conflict in order to understand the cultures at the time, and her ability to do all of this while keeping this book grounded in emotion made for a fantastic reading and learning experience.
Forgotten Warriors by Sarah Percy is an absolute must-read for everyone.
Geramie Kate Barker
gemsbooknook.wordpress.com
July 24, 2024
This is a survey of the role women have played in combat throughout history and how they've - finally - been allowed to fight on the front line. Even though, as this book makes clear, women have been on the front line forever. Either secretly or openly. Either under Siege or as leaders of armies.
The book is split into three sections: Women in War; World War; and Fighting For the Future. The first section covers everything up until the First World War; World War covers World Wars One and Two and the post-War Transitions; and Fighting For the Future talks about Post-War. That section covers the role of women in both major militaries and in smaller conflicts, e.g. FARC in Colombia.
I think Percy has written this book with a point. That point is to justify the role of women as actual combatants. Everything is about showing that the arguments about women being unsuitable for combat are ridiculous because women have always been in combat.
It is a book full of women soldiers and women leaders. Really fascinating to read, well-written and researched. I felt that maybe in the chapter on Cross-dressing Soldiers she may have been pushing a little at what the evidence actually shows in terms of numbers and percentages, but the evidence is imperfect and she might well be right. We will almost certainly never know.
Well worth a read. I fear - suspect? - that updates will be required to this book in a decade or so. But I hope I'm wrong.
The book is split into three sections: Women in War; World War; and Fighting For the Future. The first section covers everything up until the First World War; World War covers World Wars One and Two and the post-War Transitions; and Fighting For the Future talks about Post-War. That section covers the role of women in both major militaries and in smaller conflicts, e.g. FARC in Colombia.
I think Percy has written this book with a point. That point is to justify the role of women as actual combatants. Everything is about showing that the arguments about women being unsuitable for combat are ridiculous because women have always been in combat.
It is a book full of women soldiers and women leaders. Really fascinating to read, well-written and researched. I felt that maybe in the chapter on Cross-dressing Soldiers she may have been pushing a little at what the evidence actually shows in terms of numbers and percentages, but the evidence is imperfect and she might well be right. We will almost certainly never know.
Well worth a read. I fear - suspect? - that updates will be required to this book in a decade or so. But I hope I'm wrong.
November 4, 2023
Super informative bit of history, that even as an historian I was unaware of!! Writing women back in to history is always important, and this is a clear example of their deliberate erasure. Interesting and not too difficult to read, I’d say this was definitely a good find.
August 4, 2023
My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher Basic Books for an advanced copy of this book dealing with the role of women in combat, how they have been omitted, or marginalized from the history of battle.
As a reader I pretty much devoured anything that I could get, and I think this is how I became interested in history. I remember reading the Bantam War Classics, all paperback usually biographies or autobiographies of famous generals or frontline heroes, from both sides of a conflict, enjoying these and looking for more books of that type. Occasionally a woman would be mentioned, usually mom or a wife, but never ever close to the frontline. I remember reading a Weird Tales of War story and it had stories of woman, dressed as men fighting in battles. I wasn't sure why that was a weird tale, but stories of woman fighting, manning cannons, helping to plan actions, even female spies, were always considered an oddity. Later I learned about Russian female snipers, German female pilots, but again always second hand, or as signs that the enemy must have been desperate to arm ladies. Being a camp follower was excepted, a frontline combatant, well that was just unfeminine. And it turns out bad history. Forgotten Warriors: The Long History of Women in Combat by writer, educator, and radio presenter Sarah Percy is a look at woman throughout history who have fought in battle for all of the same reasons as men, though their stories were left behind.
The book begins with a lot of historians talking about the lack of woman in battle and war, many from historians that in all honesty should know better. Quite a few have written single of mutli-volume histories of particular wars, and to not write about the women involved, sniping, piloting, even espionage, seems like shoddy research. Women fought on the front lines of many conflicts, as most conflicts really came to them. And women also seemed to get the worst of it, made widowed, losing children, facing horrible attacks from friendly and enemy troops. The book than begins to look at women whose stories might be familiar to some, but to many have been never told. Readers learn of female generals, who plotted war, and led from the front. Spies behind enemy lines, killing when the had to, and training others in the dark arts of guerilla warfare. Snipers, pilots, and other front line troops from various countries, and what women might have to look forward to in the future of warfare.
A book about a depressing subject, thousands of years of conflict, but one whose true history should be told. Yes ment make up the majority of those that fight, but to marginalize the roles of certain people is too not tell the the truth about what war is. Sarah Percy does a very good job of sharing stories, correcting narratives, and presenting events as they occurred. Percy is a very good writer, with a strong voice that keeps the reading interested. The book is very well- researched, with lots of notes and other books for reading later. Their is a grimness to the book, but a book that is very valuable and worthy of discussion. I learned quite a bit about people I had never heard of, sadly, and more about people I knew but, didn't know the whole story. A very well written different kind of history.
Recommended for readers of history, especially those who read books on conflict. Also I would recommend this book for role playing game enthusiasts and war gamers, as this book could open up a lot of ideas for scenarios, and give role players an insight into the minds of women who are engaged in battle.
As a reader I pretty much devoured anything that I could get, and I think this is how I became interested in history. I remember reading the Bantam War Classics, all paperback usually biographies or autobiographies of famous generals or frontline heroes, from both sides of a conflict, enjoying these and looking for more books of that type. Occasionally a woman would be mentioned, usually mom or a wife, but never ever close to the frontline. I remember reading a Weird Tales of War story and it had stories of woman, dressed as men fighting in battles. I wasn't sure why that was a weird tale, but stories of woman fighting, manning cannons, helping to plan actions, even female spies, were always considered an oddity. Later I learned about Russian female snipers, German female pilots, but again always second hand, or as signs that the enemy must have been desperate to arm ladies. Being a camp follower was excepted, a frontline combatant, well that was just unfeminine. And it turns out bad history. Forgotten Warriors: The Long History of Women in Combat by writer, educator, and radio presenter Sarah Percy is a look at woman throughout history who have fought in battle for all of the same reasons as men, though their stories were left behind.
The book begins with a lot of historians talking about the lack of woman in battle and war, many from historians that in all honesty should know better. Quite a few have written single of mutli-volume histories of particular wars, and to not write about the women involved, sniping, piloting, even espionage, seems like shoddy research. Women fought on the front lines of many conflicts, as most conflicts really came to them. And women also seemed to get the worst of it, made widowed, losing children, facing horrible attacks from friendly and enemy troops. The book than begins to look at women whose stories might be familiar to some, but to many have been never told. Readers learn of female generals, who plotted war, and led from the front. Spies behind enemy lines, killing when the had to, and training others in the dark arts of guerilla warfare. Snipers, pilots, and other front line troops from various countries, and what women might have to look forward to in the future of warfare.
A book about a depressing subject, thousands of years of conflict, but one whose true history should be told. Yes ment make up the majority of those that fight, but to marginalize the roles of certain people is too not tell the the truth about what war is. Sarah Percy does a very good job of sharing stories, correcting narratives, and presenting events as they occurred. Percy is a very good writer, with a strong voice that keeps the reading interested. The book is very well- researched, with lots of notes and other books for reading later. Their is a grimness to the book, but a book that is very valuable and worthy of discussion. I learned quite a bit about people I had never heard of, sadly, and more about people I knew but, didn't know the whole story. A very well written different kind of history.
Recommended for readers of history, especially those who read books on conflict. Also I would recommend this book for role playing game enthusiasts and war gamers, as this book could open up a lot of ideas for scenarios, and give role players an insight into the minds of women who are engaged in battle.
March 31, 2024
A very engaging history of women in conflict. Occasionally the “tell you what I’m going to tell you; tell you; tell you what I told you” framing of the chapters felt repetitive, but overall it was a page-turner. Full of vivid examples of women engaging in combat, sometimes in everything but name. Bottom line: Women have served on the battlefield and in combat, over the centuries, to a far greater degree than is generally known or acknowledged. “The fact that women’s combat and battlefield roles in the past were routinely dismissed, denied, and even deliberately suppressed was an essential component of a strategy to keep women out. If there was no evidence that women had ever fought—or if you could persuasively dismiss any errant example that might pop up—then it became easier to sustain the argument that women could not fight in the modern military either.”
February 16, 2024
Sarah Percy’s book tells the story of what women have done in war times. The first pages are powerful and engaging. At the same time, it goes back into many of the times of what women have been doing a long, long ago. Of course, the focus is on the women of the US in many, many places. And it goes over a long number of pages.
Percy gives the things that we didn’t got in our high school, college, and probably graduate carry the things that happened in words. You can at least find out something that teachers told about history of wars. While the book goes over many books we never learned in school. And the book makes us think about what did in the times of wars.
Percy gives the things that we didn’t got in our high school, college, and probably graduate carry the things that happened in words. You can at least find out something that teachers told about history of wars. While the book goes over many books we never learned in school. And the book makes us think about what did in the times of wars.
February 18, 2024
Women have been written out of many roles in history but particularly in war, and this book gives some well-known examples and some lesser known. In almost every case, women who served as rebels, resistance fighters, or as part of established armies were ignored or treated as outcasts which has been the biggest shock to me as I read more and more about women in war/conflict
December 27, 2023
🚨 I fell away from goodreads and haven't logged any books for most of the year, so am attempting to rectify this - though I may have missed some. This book was pretty dire, and contained so many annoyances/inaccuracies ect. that I gave up trying to list them.
January 3, 2024
Excellent read! Percy does a great job of utilizing primary sources in a comprehensive way.
February 15, 2024
A necessary corrective, dampened somewhat due the fact that it serves a generalist survey.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews