Inspiration In History - Badass Female Heroes of World War 1 & World War 2

Hello Everyone,

While writing I often take inspiration from real life locations, scenarios and people.
There is only so much that can be utilized from people watching at the local cafe, or interactions in your daily life, at least this is what I have found.

I also like to use history, and modern history is a wonderful treasure trove of inspiration when it comes to strong females.
The feats woman have completed, on their own or as teams in recent history are truly awe inspiring. They are absolutely worth taking the time and reading up on, not just as a writing exercise, but also to understand more how women have pushed themselves forward through the decades.

So I have put together a small list of women, or teams of women, that are truly fierce and worth your research time (in my humble opinion) focusing around World War 1 & 2:

1.  The Night Witches

Image Credit: https://www.missedinhistory.com/podcasts/the-night-witches.htm

A group of Aviatrix, the 588th comprised entirely of women, formed in response to Hitler invading the Soviet Union and lead by Marina Raskova. They flew thousands of missions, mostly harassment bombings, and developed tactics to bypass German search lights and flak guns. My favorite tactic used by these incredible woman was the gliding tactic, where they would get in close to the target before cutting the engines, gliding in super close and dropping the payload before restarting the engines and flying away. Their missions were dangerous and so were they!

2. Hedy Lamarr

Image Credit: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/hollywood-secret-weapon-180965209/

Considered the most beautiful woman in Europe and indeed of the silver screen Hedy Lamarr was a renown actress appearing in movies such as 'Come live with Me' (1941), 'The Strange Woman' (1946) & 'Sampson and Delilah' (1949). She was also extremely intelligent and became a pioneer in the field of wireless communication. Her inventions in this area not only helped Allied war efforts in WW2, but it was also utilized broadly by the US Military during and after the Cuban Missile crisis and is instrumental in the development of the current digital communication boom.

3. Franceska Mann

Image Credit:https://www.vintag.es/2018/05/franceska-mann.html

It is said that when Franceska Mann was lead into the room adjacent to the gas chambers at Bergen, along with a group of other Jewish women, she decided not to go down without a fight. She lured two leering guards into the room she and distracted them with an alluring strip tease. As soon as the men were in range she ripped off her shoe and struck one across the head and pulled his gun from his holster. She was able to fire three shots, striking one man in the stomach twice and the last striking the other guard in the leg.
The other women were roused by Mann's actions and joined the rebellion managing to tear the nose off one and scalping the other before being subdued by machine gun fire or gas from the chamber. However it was reported that Mann still refused to die on Nazi terms and turned the stolen pistol on herself.

4. The Anzac Girls /The Nurses of Gallipoli

Image Credit: https://www.awm.gov.au/visit/exhibitions/nurses/ww1

The incredible nurses of the Anzac Corp, these woman followed the fighters and cared for thousands of casualties. They often worked in horrendous conditions, with limited supplies and with an endless supply of wounded soldiers. They form a proud, if rarely told, part of Anzac History.
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5. Lyudmila Mykhailivna Pavlichenko (The Deadliest Female Sniper in History)

Image Credit: http://www.worldwar2facts.org/lyudmila-pavlichenko.html

She was among the first to volunteer for service in 1941, requesting to join the infantry, and initially denied they wanted nurses. So she presented her sharpshooting medals & after an 'audition' she joined just 2000 other female snipers in the Red Army.
Sent directly to the war front after training she had amassed 100 confirmed killed within a month and was subsequently promoted. She was then sent onto the Crimean Peninsula & began counter sniping (dueling). She didn't lose a single one and gained 36 more confirmed kills.
By May 942 she had been promoted to Lieutenant with 257 confirmed kills and the Nazi's were well aware of her skills. They attempted to recruit her via loudspeaker promising her an Officers rank and unlimited chocolate, which she found highly sexist.
She never defected, and upon killing her 309th German the Nazi's vowed, via loudspeaker again, to rip her into 309 pieces. She was flattered they knew her score.
Eventually she was pulled from active duty due to taking mortar fragments to the face and her popularity with civilians.

6. Faye Schulman, Partisan Fighter & Photographer

Image Credit: http://www.jewishpartisans.org/partisans/faye-schulman

She was spared execution when the rest of her family were slaughter by the Nazi's due to skill with photography. The Nazi hoping to use her skills to further their propaganda. Faye was able to use this to document them and eventually escape. She joined a group of Partisan fighters, mostly comprised of escaped POW's. After retrieving her photography equipment in a raid Faye documented their efforts in fighting against the Nazi's and their atrocities.

7. Nancy Wake the 'White Mouse'

Image Credit: http://www.anzaccentenary.gov.au/news/honouring-our-heroes-ensign-nancy-wake

Nicknamed the White Mouse by the Nazi's due to her ability to evade capture Nancy Wake was a prominent member of the French Resistance after the surrender to Germany. Nancy and her husband assisted in the escape of Allied Servicemen and Jewish Refugees from occupied France into neutral Spain. After a period in prison for these efforts Nancy escaped across the Pyrenees.
Upon reaching England she began working in the French section of the Special Operations Executive (SOE). She returned to France to help organise the resistance prior to D-Day. Arranging parachute drops of arms & equipment, after D-Day she was involved in combat with bodies of German troops. Unfortunately upon liberation she was informed her husband had been killed by the Gestapo.

8. Ruby Bradley

Image Credit: https://www.wearethemighty.com/articles/americas-most-decorated-woman-fought-from-the-philippines-to-korea

A nurse serving in the Philippines when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor & captured only 3 weeks later, she spent more than 3 years as a prisoner of war.
At Santo Tomas Internment Camp in Manila, Bradley and several other captured nurses set up a small clinic to care for the other sick and wounded prisoner's. She assisted in more than 230 major surgeries and delivered 13 babies whilst a POW.
She became a combat nurse in Korea after WW2, serving on the front lines in evacuation hospitals. Colonel Bradley was one of the most decorated women in U.S. Military History & America's most decorated female veteran. Bradley was given a full-dress honor guard ceremony on leaving Korea, the first woman to receive such an honor.