History is replete with stories of women in battle. The ancient Greeks, for example, told of Amazons so dedicated to warfare that each cut off one breast to improve her ability to shoot and throw spears. The British recount tales of Queen Boudicca, famous for leading a revolt against the Romans in A.D. 61 and sacking London, Colchester, and Verulamium after the death of her husband the king. And Americans can point to colonist Margaret Corbin who, during the British attack on Fort Washington in the Revolutionary War, operated a cannon until she was seriously wounded.

For the most part, however, the history of women in battle is a combination of myth and exaggeration, mixed in with a few true accounts of unique women. Indeed, throughout history most societies have banned women from military service. Those women who did fight were often forced by circumstances into positions of...