7 Underrated Heroes in War History

Simone Segouin, known by her codename Nicole Minet, was only 18 years old when the Germans invaded Paris in 1944. She became a French Resistance fighter who successfully derailed German trains, blew up bridges and captured German troops.Her first act of rebellion was to steal a bicycle from a German military administration, and to slice the tires of all of the other bikes and motorcycles so they couldn't pursue her. She found a network of the Resistance and joined the fight, using the stolen bike to deliver messages between Resistance groups.

She was an extremely fast learner and quickly became an expert at tactics and explosives. She led teams of Resistance fighters to capture German troops, set traps, and sabotaged German equipment. As the war dragged on, her deeds escalated to derailing German trains, blocking roads, blowing up bridges and helping to create a German-free path to help the Allied forces retake France from the inside. She was never caught. Segouin was present at the liberation of Chartres on August 23, 1944, and then the liberation of Paris two days later. She was promoted to lieutenant and awarded several medals, including the Croix de Guerre. After the war, she studied medicine and became a pediatric nurse. She is still going strong, and this October (2021) she will turn 96.

Born in present-day Ukraine in 1916, Lyudmila Pavlichenko fought for the Red Army during WW2 and became the deadliest female sniper in history. Known as ‘Lady Death’, her name struck fear into the hearts of German soldiers. Her reputation on the frontline was warranted with 309 confirmed kills to her name. Lyudmila Pavlichenko highly decorated lieutenant in the Red Army’s 25th Rifle Division, Pavlichenko

A joint Ukrainian-Russian feature film, Battle for Sevastopol, was made about her in 2015, and her memoirs, Lady Death: The Memoirs of Stalin's Sniper, was published. Pavlichenko also lives on in Woody Guthrie's 1942 song, “Miss Pavlichenko.” It includes the lyrics: Miss Pavlichenko's well-known to fame
Russia's your country, fighting is your game
The world will always love you for all time to come,
 300 Nazis fell by your gun.

Corporal Desmond Doss, who never carried a gun, saved 75 fellow soldiers in World War II during the battle at Hacksaw Ridge. He joined the Army as a combat medic because he believed in the cause of WWII. But as a Seventh-day Adventist, he had also vowed not to kill. Hollywood finally wised up and created a film in 2016 depicting this hero called ‘Hacksaw Ridge’ starring Andrew Garfield. Audiences were shocked to find that most of his actions depicted in the film were indeed true.

Virginia Hall was responsible for more jailbreaks, sabotage missions and leaks of Nazi troop movements that any spy in France. The Nazis only knew her as the “Limping Lady.” Virginia Hall walked with a pronounced limp, the result of a freak hunting accident that required the amputation of her left leg below the knee.

Virginia Hall worked as a spy for the Allies during World War II. Virginia Hall organized sabotage and rescue operations across Vichy France, paving the way for the Allied invasion. She served overseas, and when the war ended, she was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. She was the first woman and the first civilian to receive this honor during World War II.

In 1944, Hall rode a British torpedo ship to France, and disguised as a 60-year-old peasant woman, criss-crossed the French countryside organizing sabotage missions against the German army. Hall’s team was credited with derailing freight trains, blowing up four bridges, killing 150 Nazis and capturing 500 more.

Douglas Bader served in the Royal Air Force as a flying ace. He was credited with 22 aerial victories, four shared victories, six probables, one shared probable and 11 enemy aircraft damaged. He served in World War 1 but in December 1931, while attempting some aerobatics, he crashed and lost both his legs. Eight years later he became a pilot once again after the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939. He scored his first victories over Dunkirk during the Battle of France In 1940.

In August 1941, Bader bailed out over German-occupied France and was captured. He lost his replacement leg in the process. Soon afterward, he met and was befriended by Adolf Galland, a prominent German fighter ace. Adolf was impressed by Bader’s war effort despite the loss of his legs and actually ordered for their Allies to have a new one parachuted in for him. Bader made a number of escape attempts and Adolf threatened to take his legs if he didn’t stop. He was liberated by the First United States Army in 1945

It was thought that Bader's success as a fighter pilot was partly because of his having no legs. If a pilot experiences too much G-Force, they can black out and lose consciousness because the blood rushes from their brain to other parts of the body like the legs. However, Bader had lost both so G-Force did not affect him the same. He was less likely to black out or lose consciousness and therefore was able to pull tighter turns and perform sharper maneuvers than his enemies.

The soldier who could not be killed- British Army Officer, Sir Adrian Carton de Wiart, fought in the Boer War, World War One and World War Two. In the process he was shot through the skull, lost his left eye, lost a leg, survived plane crashes and PoW camps across six decades. Despite all of these injuries, he remained fully dedicated to military service. Those that served with Adrian viewed him both as a maniac and inspiration. He’d lead his soldiers into certain death limping with a cane and firing his signature pistol.

From motorcycle adventurer to Nazi hunter to surfer, Mad Jack Churchill lived quite the life. His true claim to fame however came from his use of a longbow and sword during pivotal battles in World War II. His unusual weapons of choice and daring tales immensely increased the morale of poorly trained British troops caught up in the Allied invasion of Europe. When asked about his unorthodox use of a sword in modern warfare he simply replied, “Any officer who goes into action without his sword is improperly dressed.” - “Mad Jack” Churchill