Wargaming Machines:
A Site for Computer-Assisted Historical Miniatures Wargames

Women in (Wargaming) History

This page is dedicated to highlighting female figures in history who are significant from the perspective of an historical miniatures wargamer. While perhaps a bit off-topic (there is nothing specifically relevant to computer-assisted miniatures wargames about this) I did get my original inspiration from research done while working on a couple of different programs which hopefully will be released in due course, one on the 19th Century revolutions in Europe, and another which was more of a Zenda-type Victorian adventure.

Let's face it - historical miniatures wargaming is a pretty chauvanistic affair. Yes, there are a few women who participate in the hobby, and yes, there are some depictions of women as combat-capable tabletop miniatures. Even so, too often we seem to share our predecessor's male chauvanistic tendencies. At the same time, there are some incredible women who have defied the societal norms of their times and become significant figures in some of history's important military events. Perhaps because they are perceived as exceptional, they often become symbols of their causes, having a greater impact on history than they might otherwise. At the same time, some of them were clearly braver than many of their comrades, and deserve their notoriety on their own merits.

Because I found this to be an intriguing entry-point to doing historical research, and discovered some new periods of interest in the process, I thought I would provide some examples of significant women and their place in the historical miniatures wargamer's frame. I will add nominees as I have inclination and time. If you have candidates for this page, please contact me with a name, links, and your thinking about why your candidate is a good one. Note that the intent of this page is not salacious! Looking good half-garbed in a hussar uniform may be admirable in its own way, but it does not qualify as historically significant for the purposes of this site.

• Nominee 1: Countess Emilia Plater - November Uprising, Poland-Lithuania, 1830
• Nominee 2: Marianne (aka Liberty) - Many revolutions in many places over the years
• Nominee 3: Jeanne d'Arc (Joan of Arc) - Hundred Years' War, France, 1428-1431
• Nominee 4: Agustina of Aragón - Peninsular War, Spain, 1808
• Nominee 5: Nadezhda (Nadia) Vasil'yevna Popova - Great Patriotic War/WWII, Russia, Poland, Germany (etc.), 1942-1945
• Nominee 6: Jemima Nicholas (Jemima Fawr) - Invasion of Fishguard, Wales, 1797
• Nominee 7: Milunka Savic - Second Balkan War, 1913, and WWI 1914-1918

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