Women of Valor: The Rochambelles on the World War II Front, Revised Edition

Women in an armored division! General Leclerc had never heard of such a thing. But if he wanted the 19 brand-new ambulances, he would have to take their women drivers too. Known as the Rochambelles, their courage won the admiration of their comrades and changed many minds. These women learned to drive through mortar fire, to pull men from burning tanks, to stanch blood and ease pain. Above all, they learned that no matter who was doing the shooting, the greater enemy was hatred. Only three of the fifty-one women who served in the group published a memoir, and their stories have been all but lost. This book, newly revised and updated, reveals their daring and accomplishments, from Normandy to Berchtesgaden. "Women in an armored division! General Leclerc had never heard of such a thing. But if he wanted the 19 brand-new ambulances, he would have to take their women drivers too. Known as the Rochambelles, their work broke through gender barriers and their courage won the admiration of their comrades and changed many minds about the role women could play in the military. These women learned to drive through mortar fire, to pull men from burning tanks, to stanch blood and ease pain, but above all, they learned that no matter who was doing the shooting, the greater enemy was hatred. Despite their achievements, only three of the fifty-one women who eventually served in the group published a memoir, and their stories have been all but lost. This book resurrects those stories, which recount the nature of courage and the definition of fear, from Normandy to Berchtesgaden"-- Provided by publisher Women in an armoured division! General Leclerc had never heard of such a thing. But if he wanted the 19 brand-new ambulances, he would have to take their women drivers too. This book resurrects their stories, which recount the nature of courage and the definition of fear, from Normandy to Berchtesgaden. A history of the Rochambelles describes how a group of determined young women, some stranded by the German invasion of France or others who had fled the Nazi occupation, played an important role as an all-female ambulance corps in World War Two.