Women and war
War is often seen as an affair for men, but the collections at musée de l’Armée show that women have also played a major role in armed conflicts.
Dans les gares, nettoyeuses de machines et de voitures (1917) by Archibald Standish Hartrick (Engraver)Musée de l'Armée - Hôtel des Invalides
Overalls
With the station behind them, dressed in overalls, brushes, and buckets in hand; these women left the peace and quiet of their homes to become cleaners for machines and cars.
For every fighter a woman worker (1918) by Adolph Doublon Triedler (Illustrator) and American lithographic Co. (Printer)Musée de l'Armée - Hôtel des Invalides
The mobilization of millions of men in the armies lead to economic difficulties. Faced with this shortage of male workers, companies adapted during World War I thanks to the mobilization of women behind the scenes : agricultural workers, laborers, or even nurses.
Paradoxically, some historians point out that, World War I marked the start of female emancipation. Feminist movements used the contribution of women to the world of work to claim more rights!
Laissez-passer à en tête des Forces Françaises Libres au nom d'Anna Van Doorn Marly, Londres, 11 février 1942 (Febuary 11, 1942) by Forces françaises libres (Editor)Musée de l'Armée - Hôtel des Invalides
Friend, can you hear me?
Born in Russia during the revolution, Anne Marly reached France in the early 1920s, then England in 1940. She initially worked as a caterer at the French Foreign Legion (FFL) headquarters before joining the resistance.
In 1942, she composed a guerilla song in Russian, translated by Joseph Kessel and Maurice Duron, which became the hymn of the French Resistance: Chant des Partisans (Song of the Resistance Fighters).
Women moving up in the world
Female pilots appeared during World War II but their tasks remained auxiliary. The first pilots recruited joined the Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA), which managed the transfer of planes between factories and military aerodromes in active service.
This Royal Air Force flight log belonged to Margot Duhalde, the first female pilot of the Free French Forces. Refused as a combat pilot she joined the Air Transport Auxiliary. After the war, Margot Duhalde climbed the ranks and reached the grade of colonel in the Chilean Air.
The blood-drinking hero
In 1792, while Paris was gripped by an uprising, the Marquis of Sombreuil, governor of Les Invalides, was stopped by the revolutionary authorities. According to legend, Marie Maurille, his daughter, freed her father by agreeing to a grim task: drinking a man's blood.
On her death in 1823, soldiers placed her heart in an urn, which was transferred to Les Invalides in 1851, next to her father. The only female urn in the governors' vault at Les Invalides, her first name was masculinized to Maurisse
Veste de déporté Vue de faceMusée de l'Armée - Hôtel des Invalides
To our women!
This gray fabric smock belonged to Lise Lesèvre, a French resistance fighter deported to Ravensbrück in June 1944. Apprehended then tortured, Lise Lesèvre gave no information. Sent in the same year to a German shell factory, she continued her acts of resistance by sabotaging the anti-aircraft shells.
Veste de déporté Vue de dosMusée de l'Armée - Hôtel des Invalides
On the back of her smock, there is a large red cross, which was a mark placed on individuals to be monitored closely. On the left sleeve, there is a red triangle, that indicated Lise Lesèvre's status as a political deportee, and the letter "F" for French. An identification number completes the set. Lise Lesèvre was released in May 1945.
Sergent-chef féminin de l'armée de l'Air (2001)Musée de l'Armée - Hôtel des Invalides
Red blood
Although the Allied countries used women behind the scenes, the USSR made an exception by being one of the few countries to train women in combat. Drivers, mechanics, pilots, foot soldiers, and elite shooters, around 800,000 women served in the red Army.
Among them: Lioumila Pavlitchenko, a hero of World War II in Russia. Lioumila was just 25-years old when she became an elite shooter and killed 309 enemies. In recognition of her efforts, she received the distinction Hero of the Soviet Union in 1943.
Épée avec fourreau, offerte à Mlle Lix en souvenir de la guerre de 1870-1871 Épée avec fourreau, offerte à Mlle Lix en souvenir de la guerre de 1870-1871 (Ca. 1872)Musée de l'Armée - Hôtel des Invalides
A woman of character
In 1870, when war was declared against Prussia, Marie-Antoinette wanted to join the regular troops to defend her country, but French law didn't permit this. Far from being discouraged, she then joined the Lamarche free shooters as a lieutenant.
Épée avec fourreau, offerte à Mlle Lix en souvenir de la guerre de 1870-1871 Vue généraleMusée de l'Armée - Hôtel des Invalides
Proving her mettle in battles, her commitment was recognized with this sword.
A story written and edited by the teams of the Army Museum.
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