Women at War: Soviet Female Soldiers in the Great Patriotic War

The Soviet Union was unique among the Allied powers in deploying women in direct combat roles during World War II. Over 800,000 Soviet women served in the armed forces, with many thousands serving as snipers, tank crews, pilots, and infantry soldiers. The most famous were the three all-female aviation regiments — the 586th Fighter Aviation Regiment, the 587th Bomber Aviation Regiment, and the 588th Night Bomber Aviation Regiment (the legendary "Night Witches"). Women also served in crucial non-combat roles as field surgeons, nurses, communications operators, and partisans. In the UK today, families of these remarkable women continue to honour their memory through the Immortal Regiment movement.