War is suffering, pain, death, and destruction. But war also compels women to take up arms and fight for their homeland and freedom. During the Great Patriotic War, between 800,000 and one million women fought alongside men in the Soviet Army.

We must remember their heroic deeds: medical personnel, tens of thousands of snipers, pilots, and partisans. They saved lives, destroyed the enemy in the air and on the ground, and displayed unparalleled courage and heroism behind the front lines.

Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya

She volunteered for the Soviet Army and joined an intelligence and sabotage unit that fought against Nazi German forces in occupied Soviet territory. She carried out missions to destroy Nazi bases. In November 1941, she was arrested after attempting to set fire to enemy headquarters. Despite brutal and inhumane torture, beatings, burning of parts of her body, and other horrific physical and psychological abuse, she did not divulge any war secrets about the location of her combat unit or the Soviet fighters. Before her execution at the age of 18, she urged the population to resist the Nazis, saying, "We are 170 million, and it's impossible to execute us all." Zoya became a symbol of resilience, patience, heroism, and patriotism, and the first woman to receive the Hero of the Soviet Union award in the Great Patriotic War.

Lyudmila Pavlichenko

The most powerful female sniper in history—she killed 309 enemy Nazi soldiers, including 36 professional snipers. The world media at the time called her "Lady Death." She participated in the border battles in Moldova, the defense of Odessa, the Crimean battle, and the defense of Sevastopol. During the defense of Sevastopol, German artillery attempted to assassinate her, but they failed. She was awarded the highest honor, the Hero of the Soviet Union.

Ekaterina Zelenko

Aviation was her life's passion. She participated in aerial combat during the Soviet-Finnish War. She made history as the only woman to have conducted an aerial bombardment (airborne assault) against the enemy. In September 1941, while returning from a combat mission, she was attacked by several enemy aircraft. Ms. Zelenko managed to shoot down one, but, exhausted from her ammunition, she rammed another enemy plane and shot it down, but was killed (at the age of 25).

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Lydia Litvyak

She made her first flight at the age of 15. During her short life (she was killed in action at the age of 21), she flew 168 combat missions. At the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, she learned about the formation of the all-female pilot regiment, the "Night Witches," and volunteered to join it. During the Battle of Stalingrad, she succeeded in shooting down one of the most powerful and famous Nazi German pilots, Hans Voss, who had previously shot down 30 aircrafts. Litvyak became the first woman in aviation history to personally shoot down an enemy fighter plane.

Marina Raskova

She set different world records for flight distance. During one of her missions, she had to parachute into the taiga forests and managed to survive for 10 days alone. During the Great Patriotic War, she formed the first all-female pilot regiment in history, which the Germans called the "Night Witches."

"Night Witches": Legendary Women and the Terror of the Nazi Germans

This legendary all-female air regiment flew combat missions exclusively at night. The fighters lowered the engine noise or shut down their engines before dropping bombs on enemy aircrafts. In total, this legendary regiment flew over 24,000 combat missions, participating in the Caucasus battle, the liberation of Crimea, Belarus, Poland, and battles in Germany.

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ليديا ليتفياك

قامت برحلتها الجوية الاولى في 15 من عمرها. قامت خلال حياتها القصيرة (استشهدت في القتال في 21 من عمرها) ب168 رحلة جوية قتالية. في بداية الحرب الوطنية العظمى عرفت عن تشكيل فوج الطياران النسائي "ساحرات ليلية" وتطوعت في الانضمام اليه. خلال معركة ستالينغراد نجحت في إسقاط احد اقوى وأشهر الطيارين الألمان النازيين غانس فوس الذي اسقط 30 طائرة. واصبحت السيدة ليتفياك المرأة الاولى في تاريخ الطيران التي شخصيا أسقطت طائرة مقاتلة العدو.

مارينا راسكوفا

سجلت القياسات العالمية في مسافة الرحلات. خلال احدى الرحلات الجوية اضطرت إلى القفز بالمظلة في غابات التايغا وتمكنت من البقاء على قيد الحياة خلال 10 ايام في الغابات بنفسها ولوحدها. خلال الحرب الوطنية العظمى شكلت اول فوج الطياران في تاريخ البشرية الذي ضم النساء فقط والذي سمّاه الألمان"بساحرات ليلية".

"ساحرات ليلية": النساء الأسطوريات والرعب للألمان

قام فوج الطيران الأسطوري بالرحلات الجوية القتالية فقط في الليل. وخفضن المقاتلات صوت محركات الطائرات او اوقفن تشغيل محركات الطائرات قبل إسقاط القنابل على طائرات العدو. اجماليا قام هذا الفوج الأسطوري النسائي بأكثر من 24 الف رحلة جوية قتالية وشارك في معارك القوقاز وتحرير القرم وبلاروسيا وبولندا والمعارك في ألمانيا.

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