Women Of The Allies Essay

Sara Davis

Global History II

Mr McCormick

May 12, 2023

Women of the Allies

“Let the generations know that women in uniform also guaranteed their freedom.” - Mary Edwards Walker. Walker was a surgeon and women's rights advocate who is the only female holding the title as the Congressional Medal of Honor. As World War II began, demand for women workers increased greatly as most able-bodied men were sent out into combat. For the Allies, women from each country contributed to winning World War II using their intelligence and bravery that had never been displayed or appreciated before the war. While there was some overlap in the ways women of the Allies contributed depending on their country, three ways they helped include codebreaking, fighting

Differentiating from the women from the United States, one reason for winning the war was Great Britain’s achievements in code-breaking. Many women were able to showcase their computer programming skills that had never been appreciated before. Lastly, women from the Soviet Union were placed into combat. Although women participating in combat was not the Soviet’s first choice, the women were able to hold their ground. Without women in the Allies becoming part of the workforce during World War II the result could have varied and the Allies may have lost the war as a whole. Throughout World War II, women in the Allied powers stepped up and showcased their talents in intelligence, industrial production, medicine, and even combat; these contributions were essential to the Allies winning the war.

In the United States, women

Differentiating from the United States and Great Britain, women in the Soviet Union were able to be a part of the combat aspect of the war instead of working in factories or codebreaking. Although women were not the Soviets first choice for the war, they were able to step up and contribute greatly while facing discrimination. Before World War II women in the Soviet Union worked only in domestic jobs but when the war began, women were immediately thrown into jobs that were stereotypical “male occupations”. One example of women fighting for the Soviet Union is the Night Witches, a large group of female pilots that bombed Nazi’s throughout the night. The women flew wooden planes in the dark while withstanding bullets that Nazi’s were shooting from the ground. The Nazi’s grew a major fear of the Night Witches because they were so powerful that any Nazi that was able to take one out was instinctively awarded the Iron Cross medal, a very prestigious honor. Their technology was not very advanced as they never used radios and the planes were too small to show up on radar. All though this seems like a set-back, it was a major upside as they were hard to discover when they were coming. Although they were successful, they faced plenty of challenges and discrimination that set them back. The Red -Army was not prepared for women to start