The Guangxi Women's Battalion was a
women's unit formed in 1938 in
Guangxi
Guangxi (; ; Chinese postal romanization, alternately romanized as Kwanghsi; ; za, Gvangjsih, italics=yes), officially the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (GZAR), is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the People's Republic ...
, China.
It was one of several corps that were founded following an appeal by
Soong Mei-ling
Soong Mei-ling (also spelled Soong May-ling, ; March 5, 1898 – October 23, 2003), also known as Madame Chiang Kai-shek or Madame Chiang, was a Chinese political figure who was First Lady of the Republic of China, the wife of Generalissimo and ...
for women to support the
Sino-Japanese War effort in 1937.
Similar units included: the
Yunnan Women's Battlefield Service Unit,
Zhejiang Women's Guerrilla Band,
Hunan War Service Corps,
and others.
In Guangxi, an initial appeal aimed to recruit 1200 students (both men and women), but over 18,000 initially signed up.
Of these 4,269 were selected for service, and of the women chosen, most trained as combat medics with the Fifth Route Army.
Reports on the size of the battalion vary from 130 students,
to 500,
to 800.
The battalion fought in southern China.
According to
anthropologist
An anthropologist is a person engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropology is the study of aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms and ...
Elisabeth Croll, the Guangxi Women's Battalion was "the most famous of the girls' military units" in China.
References
{{Authority control
Women in the military
Battalions
Military units and formations established in 1937