A/N: This is a brief introduction to the world I have set my story in, it also contains backstories halfway down. the real narrative starts next chapter and this is really just me indulging the historian in me by giving context.
Also due to my usage of military terminology, with which not everyone may be familiar I shall include for your convenience a glossary at the bottom of each chapter listing the words used and what they correspond to (Mostly weapons and equipment)
I feel it necessary to add that I mean no offence to any nationalities in the process of this story.
Now featuring New actiony Prologue after this so if you don't want a universe back story click the next chapter button for something more narrative based and actiony
Prologue: A World Not Quite Like Ours
Extract from the introduction of, Women Warriors and Hell Jumpers: The Parachute Regiment and the 6th Parachute Division in World War Two by Dr Pamela Whitdane (1967)
…the successful campaign lead by Miss Pankhurst in the days before World War One to allow Women to fight in frontline combat roles would inevitably have far reaching consequences. The bloody experience of the Boer War combined with increasing Suffragette pressure led to the passing of the Equal Service Act of 1913 one year before the war broke out to supplement fears of an outnumbered British force on the continent. The strains of war soon compelled nations like Germany the Japanese and even the French to follow suit soon after
The subsequent women's regiments composed of both women rankers and officers that were formed did not see large scale deployment until Loos in 1915 along with Kitchener's new armies, but by the end of the war composed of over 40% of all allied forces, rising to 60% in some cases such as the Japanese Expeditionary force, on the western front, with multiple women's and mixed regiments participating in the 100 days offensive and pushing into the heart of the Rhineland. By this time casualty rates amongst allied and British generals had also meant the promotion of many Women officers to previously unthinkable ranks the highest being Major General Emily Seaworth commander of the British third Army.
The social impacts of this were profound, combined with the spectre of socialist revolution the demobilisation of many working men and women necessitated the passing of many sweeping acts. Notably in both France and the British Empire in 1919 was the right to vote for all citizens over the age of 18 as well the ability to stand for elected office and the right to education and fair pay. These bills pushed through by the liberal party against the wishes of the conservatives in the early 1920s are now known collectively as the rights acts.
The ability to stand for office however changed much, the influx of women into the conservative party meant a quick volte-face on the issue of women's rights with Emmeline Pankhurst herself becoming the leader of the party in 1929, the first woman in history to lead a major electoral party.
At a more local level the impact of the trenches had overturned the sexual status quo. Bonds formed in the heat of battle tended to die hard, and divorce rates skyrocketed as men and women alike dealt with the scars of war. At the same time the cheapness of life during the war had caused looser sexual attitudes which persisted and ushered in a sexual revolution, combined with medical advances such as the contraceptive pill. A series of scandals involving homosexual relationships embroiling many senior commanders and thousands of ex-soldiers prompted equal amounts of outrage and understanding, the scandals even reaching as far as Field Marshall Haig and Maj. Gen. Seaworth herself. It rapidly became clear that existing legislation on homosexuality was inadequate and outdated and under the umbrella of bi-partisan leadership the so-called Right to Love Act of 1930 decriminalised homosexuality across the empire, with the dominions and France following suit within the year.
It was in this context as the new brutalised generation clashed with the old across Europe, in some places such as Germany and Italy the clash was violent and lead to extremist parties fighting in the street. Conservatism sometimes reasserting itself violently. After the appointment of Hitler as chancellor in 1933 the 3 Ks of Kinder Kirche Kuche stripped women of rights that even dated back to the Second Reich and World War 1.
The remainder of the inter-war period saw appeasement and tension in equal measure, the re-militarisation of the Rhineland and the collapse of the apparatus of the League of Nations made it plain that war was only a matter of time. Germany France Britain and the USSR all put in place plans to re-arm as quickly as possible.
With the invasion of Poland after the Danzig crisis the BEF was dispatched to France and fought a controversial campaign in neutral Norway over the winter of 1939-1940. As spring dawned and widespread conscription was introduced people expected yet another long drawn out affair on the fields of France; the blitzkrieg that followed in May 1940 was a huge shock, with the allied high command paralysed on what to do; most decisions were left up to divisional commanders. In this context the formations that were predominately female both French and British were found by the now wholly male German army to put up extremely fierce resistance, after the horror stories of the Polish campaign had filtered back over the lines. Some Historians now point to the last stand and ultimately barbaric fate of the 40eme régiment d'tirailleurs féminine in the Massif Centrale as a harbinger of the horrors of the eastern front. Women's formations were among the first to pledge their allegiance to the cross of Lorraine after De Gaulle's call to arms of June 1940 ans subsequently went on to form the core of not only the Free French forces but also of many resistance cells inside occupied France and Europe.
The obvious tenacity with which the women's formations fought, in an otherwise speedy collapse, was immediately obvious to the British high command and hence the decision was taken that elite units would more often prioritise women than men in their induction. This was not always the case as the Long Range Desert Group of the 8th army was still predominately male as was Stirling's SAS. But newly formed and experimental units such as the Chindits upon their formation and the SBS certainly applied to this rule. By 1945 both had in some cases units of at least 80% female composition. To this rule the new Parachute divisions were no exception.
The Parachute divisions, or more officially known as the British Airborne forces, were formed after Germany's seizure of Crete in 1941 and bore the motto of In Pedibus Primum Infernum, a remark on how they got into battle. Theirs is the story with whom we concern ourselves. The two divisions formed were primarily composed of women due to their higher dexterity and a higher tolerance to pain which were believed to be vital to airborne operations. the two divisions were blooded in North Africa earning the nickname of the Red Devils and Hell Jumpers from the German units which engaged them. Commander of the Afrika Korps himself Erwin Rommel said of the Paras in an echo of Napoleon "It is a good thing there are so few of these Women, or else we would be fighting in the outskirts of Berlin already.". this explosive introduction onto the stage of warfare for the Paratroopers earned them fame and loathing in equal measure a theme repeated as they saw combat in every major allied campaign from 1942 onwards.
In these numerous campaigns there arose one particular story from the aftermath of Operation Furistan. During the Sicily landings in 1943 soldiers advancing inland were told by Paratroopers and Prisoners alike, of a group of 9 women who fought in an old Greek temple dedicated to the 9 muses for over two days against an entire battalion of German infantry. These girls were all that remained of the unit that had held the temple but held it they did, and in doing so they ensured a speedy advance for the British forces up the west coast of Sicily.
Their story was verified and spread like wildfire, and the girls rapidly became legend in the British army and beyond. Being the sole survivors of their company they were formed into a section under the command of the ranking NCO. This section in honour and memory of the temple in which they had fought on Sicily would forever be known as Muse Section…
Extract from chapter 5: The Story of Muse Section
Before we tell the story of Muse Section in depth it is important to note the backgrounds of the each of the characters composing this most odd yet elite of formations.
The Ranking NCO Hardly needs little introduction, Sgt Kousaka was born and raised in the village of Lightseed in Hampshire in 1921 to her parents both of whom ran a bakery with numerous orders from high-end hotels in London for their pastries, the girl displayed as told by many accounts a determination bordering on recklessness and the true qualities of a leader. She led a comfortable life relative to most in her area and was all set to take over the family business when in 1939 war broke out. Being 18 when war arrived Sgt Kousaka took her father's place in the draft, and joined up that same year. Both she and her younger sister, future Minister of defence Yukiho Kousaka, started in the Hampshire regiment with the elder Kousaka quickly rising to the rank of sergeant and joining the parachute regiment in 1941 as her sister entered the Hampshires.
The Second in Command Corporal Sonoda was also born in Lightseed in 1921 to a more conservative background, her father was an MP and the Sonoda family had been part of the local Squirearchy for generations, as the sole Sonoda heir the future Corporal was trained from a young age in fencing archery, dancing and painting. Her father was one of the few MPs who voted against the party whip in the passing of the 1930 Right to Love Act and abhorred the idea of women holding ranking positions over men. His views did not appear to greatly impact his daughter however, as Corporal Sonoda also joined the Hampshires on the outbreak of war in order to fight for her country, along with rumours abounding about a potential relationship with one of her squad mates. again one year later she followed her friend into the parachute regiment rising to be Corporal to Kousaka's Sergeant.
The final inhabitant of Lightseed was the section Markswoman Private Minami, born again in 1921 and coming from a family with intimate military connections her mother having served in World War One as a lieutenant and being decorated on two separate occasions. As a child Pvt. Minami was always aware of the possibility of military service which hung over her head, and the training in marksman-ship from her mother a local teacher she received as a child marked this out. She was childhood friends with the other two Lightseed inhabitants and it is believed that although they had separate reasons all decided to join up together, again she followed her friends into the Parachute regiment in 1941. Interviews suggest that she was very close to the Sergeant but the nature of the relationship as ever is not known.
The Section Medic Lance Corporal Nishikino, however was born in 1922 to the admired Nishikino family who operated a hospital in London as well as a clinic on the prestigious Harley Street. Nishikino grew up around medicine and was expected to follow her parents into the profession. However after loosing contact with Jewish friends in the medical community in Germany after Kristalnacht both her parents developed a hatred of Nazism and all it stood for, both in 1938 dropped everything and enrolled in the Royal Army Medical Corps as officers. Nishikino was also known in London society to be a talented pianist but at the outbreak of war her skills were little in demand. As such in April 1940 just before the German blitzkrieg Nishikino joined up as a private in the Princess of Wales' own West Sussex Guards. Her medical prowess soon saw her to join the RAMC like her parents but as a ranker once more, after joining the Parachute regiment in 1942 she rose to Lance Corporal. It is around Nishikino that the rumours of Sonoda's wartime relationship swirl.
Little Concrete is Known about Private Tojo, all that is certain is that she was a ships hand on the SS Artist-hand from 1935 onwards until 1940 when she applied for citizenship, ostensibly her parents having resided in Hong Kong, and her date of birth being around 1920 to join the army. After enlisting she joined the Royal Berkshire regiment before joining the Parachute regiment on it's formation in 1941, after this the record is once again spotty and all that is known is that she turned down promotion many times even before Joining Muse Section.
Private Ayase, was born in London in 1920 to a bank clerk and her mother Natalia Ayase a well-known White-Russian émigré who had fled the chaos of her homeland in 1918 to come to Britain. Ayase's life consisted of mostly meeting other Émigré families and learning the ropes of aristocratic life at a boarding school in Oxfordshire. she stood out from the rest of the students holding liberal, sometimes socialistic views in spite of, or perhaps because of, her mother's influence she became involved in numerous Liberal groups associating with figures such as H.G. Wells, Bertram Russel and Virginia Woolf. She was even tipped for a political career before the outbreak of war. After-joining the Berkshire rifles in 1939 she remained stable as a private awaiting a deployment to France that never came. She joined the Paras in 1941, interestingly it is rumoured that despite little being known about Pvt. Tojo's record these two stuck together like glue throughout the war.
Private Yazawa was also born in 1920 in London, yet her life in the slums of White-chapel was markedly different from that of Nishikino or Ayase, after attending 7 years of primary education Yazawa taught herself and siblings the rest unwilling to pay the fees for a private school. Working as a tutor, laundress and aiding in her mother's shop Yazawa was by all accounts an earnest and hard worker, it is believed that she and Private Koizumi were responsible for the group putting on inpromtu shows and singing performances at the various army bases they were stationed at.
The Section Runner Private Hoshizora and her companion Private Koizumi both grew up in the docks of Bristol in similar conditions to Private Yazawa both having been born in 1922. However from an early age Hoshizora's athletic ability made her a rising star in the athletic world aided by the coaching of Koizumi. It was even rumoured that she might be able to run a four minute mile, and that she had offers for places on the British athletics team at Tokyo 1940. War however precluded her and her coach's dreams of standing on top of the podium. Yet her skill immediately marked both out as model soldiers, even if Koizumi was timid at times. The Commando regiment offered them both places after they joined in 1940 only to be turned down. Both stuck in the Somerset Light infantry until 1942 at which point they joined the Parachute regiment.
These bonds and skills that pre-existed their fame are of vital importance to understanding how these 9 women came together to form one of the legends of World War Two. The inspiration of the allies, and the bane of the Axis. Muse Section.
A/N:
Thus the stage is set. the rest of the story will be a narrative so worry not.
Glossary, not mentioned in this chapter but they will appear a lot or are standard issue weapons for the section, so they're going to be mentioned here.
Section: the smallest unit of organising men in the british army usually composed of 8-10 men equipped with a light machine gun rifles Sub-machine guns etc commanded by a Sergeant, analogous to an American 'Squad'.
NCO: Non-Commissioned Officer what it says on the tin an officer not holing a Commission (Usually ranks from Lance Corporal to Warrant Officer inc. Sergeant and Corporal)
Sten: Sten sub-machine gun, a submachine gun manufactured by the British for a cheap quick to make sub-machine gun, the result was after being put into mass production the Sten Mk II, which was a piece of crap that jammed a lot etc. As Paratroopers the girls of Muse are using the only Mark that really worked the Mk V. introduced in 1944
Bren: A light machine gun standard issue in the British army in WW2 usually distributed one per section.
Lee-enfield: the No. 4 Mk Lee-enfield rifle had a 10 round .303 magazine and was equipped with a spike bayonet, the same sights and bayonet would be used on the Sten Mk V.
Mortar: Muzzle loading artillery that fires things at high trajectories and low ranges, most commonly used in a platoon was a 3 inch cal mortar firing various types of shell.
MP: member of Parliament (in this context at least it does not mean Military Police)