Heroines of the Soviet Union 1941-45 Book

Women of the Allied Nations contributed a lot to the WWII War Effort, but none as directly as those of the Former Soviet Union. While American, British, and Commonwealth women served in a myriad of non-combatant roles, Soviet women did all that- and also some participated at the sharp end. As well as taking over a lot of Industrial Production and support roles- soviet women volunteered to fight as Infantry, Tankers, Machine Gunners Snipers, and Combat Pilots. This books discusses the cream of the crop- those who fought and were awarded the Soviet Union's highest honor- the Hero(ine) of the soviet Union. The stories are all impressive- these ladies defended the Rodina (the motherland) with a gritty intensity the equal of any male recipient. Military and Aviation writer Henry Sakaida present the stories simply and sparsely, moving quickly through some harrowing tales with a steady exposition.

As with his Heroes of the Soviet Union tome Sakaida is an unquestioning narrator. He takes all the Soviet stories at face value, when the reader may be smelling touches of propaganda in many of the account. He also misidentifies Lydia Litvyak, the great Fighter Ace as a Russian , when her very Name identifies her as a Lithuanian Jew. Some of these young ladies appear to have been early LGBTQ pioneers- and he is totally unquestioning about this possibility- always putting the Soviet "Family Values" spin on each tale. But even with these blind spots, its so refreshing to see good coverage of early Feminist struggles -and see these women get the respect they deserve in the west.

With adult themes sort of left out - and only a few graphic injury descriptions this is a fine book for a Junior reader of about 11/12 years. For the Gamer/Modeller/Military enthusiast, this is a great resource on a little discussed topic and an excuse to put those female miniatures to good use. There are plenty of stories that will help scenario/diorama developments- and a lot of interesting content for the Military Enthusiast- a whole new area of study that deserves attention. good for any Red Army/ Red Air Force , Feminism or Woman at War shelf in the library.