Women and the First World War
Women and the First World War
World War 1 had a massive effect on all sides of human life and almost everyone in Europe felt some change as a consequence. One group for whom it is often described as a true turning point, largely in employment and enfranchisement (voting), were women.
Women’s reactions Women, like men, were divided in their reactions to war, with some championing the cause and others worried by it. The National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies, a spearhead for women’s right in Britain, put political activity largely on hold for the duration of the war, and the more militant WSPU did likewise after speaking with the government, although in 1915 they did demonstrate publicly, demanding that women be given a ‘right to serve’. Emmeline and Christabel Pankhurst, perhaps the most famous Suffragettes, turned to recruiting soldiers for the war effort, actions echoed across Europe.
Women on the front line few women served in the front lines fighting, but there were exceptions: Flora Sands was a British woman who fought with Serbian forces, attaining the rank of Captain by the war’s end, while Ekaterina Teodoroiv fought in the Romanian army. There are stories of women in the Russian army throughout the war, but in the aftermath of the February Revolution of 1917 an all-female unit formed with government support: the Russian Women’s Battalion of Death. While there were several battalions, only one fought in the war, but fight they did, capturing enemy soldiers. Combat may have been restricted, but women were near, sometimes on, the front lines, often as nurses caring for the considerable number of wounded, or as drivers, particularly of ambulances. While Russian nurses were supposed to have been kept away from the front line, a significant number died from enemy fire, problem nurses of all nationalities sometimes faced. While the role of women in nursing didn’t break as many boundaries as in other professions – there was still a general feeling that
World War 1 had a massive effect on all sides of human life and almost everyone in Europe felt some change as a consequence. One group for whom it is often described as a true turning point, largely in employment and enfranchisement (voting), were women.
Women’s reactions Women, like men, were divided in their reactions to war, with some championing the cause and others worried by it. The National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies, a spearhead for women’s right in Britain, put political activity largely on hold for the duration of the war, and the more militant WSPU did likewise after speaking with the government, although in 1915 they did demonstrate publicly, demanding that women be given a ‘right to serve’. Emmeline and Christabel Pankhurst, perhaps the most famous Suffragettes, turned to recruiting soldiers for the war effort, actions echoed across Europe.
Women on the front line few women served in the front lines fighting, but there were exceptions: Flora Sands was a British woman who fought with Serbian forces, attaining the rank of Captain by the war’s end, while Ekaterina Teodoroiv fought in the Romanian army. There are stories of women in the Russian army throughout the war, but in the aftermath of the February Revolution of 1917 an all-female unit formed with government support: the Russian Women’s Battalion of Death. While there were several battalions, only one fought in the war, but fight they did, capturing enemy soldiers. Combat may have been restricted, but women were near, sometimes on, the front lines, often as nurses caring for the considerable number of wounded, or as drivers, particularly of ambulances. While Russian nurses were supposed to have been kept away from the front line, a significant number died from enemy fire, problem nurses of all nationalities sometimes faced. While the role of women in nursing didn’t break as many boundaries as in other professions – there was still a general feeling that