Battlefield 1 will get female soldiers in its upcoming Russian expansion

News
By published

The In the Name of the Tsar expansion will bring the Women's Battalion of Death to the fight.

Electronic Arts took to Twitter today to reveal that the Women's Battalion of Death, a new Russian unit and the game's first female multiplayer soldier, is on the way to Battlefield 1 in the upcoming expansion In the Name of the Tsar.

The real-life 1st Russian Women's Battalion of Death, as noted by Wikipedia, was one of several all-female Russian units formed in the wake of the February Revolution that saw the overthrow of Tsar Nicholas II, the last Emperor of Russia. They were initially created for propaganda purposes, but the 1st Battalion saw action during the Kerensky Offensive that took place in the summer of 1917.

When the attack began, the women went over the top while the men held back; they pushed well into German territory, but were forced to withdraw when relief forces failed to arrive. Later that year the unit was withdrawn from combat by the Bolshevik government and ultimately disband "as a result of increasing hostility from male troops who resented female volunteers for preventing them from retreating many times over." Ironic, eh?

EA also announced on Twitter that Premium Friends, a feature that enables Battlefield 1 Premium Pass owners to play pass-exclusive multiplayer maps with their non-pass-owning pals, is live again for another round of testing. This test period will run until June 10, which is also when EA plans to reveal more information about the In the Name of the Tsar expansion during the pre-E3 EA Play event. 

Andy Chalk
Andy Chalk
US News Lead

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.