Guangxi Women's Battalion

Guangxi Women's Battalion
Active	1938 (1938)–1945 (1945)
Country	China
Type	Women's unit
Size	between 130 to 800
Part of	National Revolutionary Army
Garrison/HQ	Guilin
Engagements	Second Sino-Japanese War

The Guangxi Women's Battalion was a women's unit in the National Revolutionary Army (the armed forces of the Republic of China) formed in 1938 in Guilin, Guangxi. ^[1] It was one of several corps that were founded following an appeal by Soong Mei-ling for women to support the Sino-Japanese War effort in 1937. ^{[2] [3]} Similar units included: the Yunnan Women's Battlefield Service Unit, ^[4] Zhejiang Women's Guerrilla Band, ^{[5] [6]} Hunan War Service Corps, ^[7] and others.

In Guangxi, an initial appeal aimed to recruit 1200 students (both men and women), but over 18,000 initially signed up. ^[1] Of these 4,269 were selected for service, and of the women chosen, most trained as combat medics with the Fifth Route Army. ^[1] Reports on the size of the battalion vary from 130 students, ^[8] to 500, ^[9] to 800. ^[2] The battalion fought in southern China. ^[8]

According to anthropologist Elisabeth Croll, the Guangxi Women's Battalion was "the most famous of the girls' military units" in China. ^[7]

References

1. Zhu, Pingchao (2015-10-30). Wartime Culture in Guilin, 1938–1944: A City at War. Lexington Books. ISBN   978-0-7391-9684-7.
2. Chung, Mary Keng Mun (2005). Chinese Women in Christian Ministry: An Intercultural Study. Peter Lang. ISBN   978-0-8204-5198-5.
3. Women of China. Foreign Language Press. 2001.
4. Honig, Emily (1992-03-01). Sisters and Strangers: Women in the Shanghai Cotton Mills, 1919-1949. Stanford University Press. ISBN   978-0-8047-2012-0.
5. Siu, Bobby (1982). Women of China: Imperialism and Women's Resistance, 1900-1949. Zed Press. ISBN   978-0-905762-58-6.
6. The Chalice and the Blade in Chinese Culture: Gender Relations and Social Models. China Social Sciences Publishing House. 1995. ISBN   978-7-5004-1741-5.
7. Croll, Elisabeth (2011). Feminism and socialism in China. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge. ISBN   978-1-136-33732-1. OCLC   828737579.
8. Yihong, Pan (1997). "Feminism and Nationalism in China's War of Resistance against Japan" . The International History Review. 19 (1): 115–130. doi:10.1080/07075332.1997.9640778. ISSN   0707-5332. JSTOR   40108087.
9. Morgan, Robin (2016-03-08). Sisterhood Is Global: The International Women's Movement Anthology. Open Road Media. ISBN   978-1-5040-3324-4.