Battlefield 1 Adds Female Soldiers To Multiplayer With New DLC

Battlefield 1's next big DLC pack is called In the Name of the Tsar, and its main addition is the Russian Army. Alongside four new maps, the pack will include Russian vehicles, soldiers, and weapons. This week, EA revealed a cool detail about the map pack: the Russian Scout class will be represented by a female soldier from the Women's Battalion of Death.

The publisher recently announced this on Twitter, giving no other details about the Russian Army or the Scout Class. However, this is a notable addition to a series that until now has predominately featured men in multiplayer modes.

This seems like a good way to increase awareness of a part of World War I that isn't widely known. The Women's Battalion of Death was formed in 1917 as a desperate attempt by the Russian Provisional Government to inspire morale and support for the war effort. Although women had been serving in small numbers in the standard Russian Army before this, some women pressured the government to create female-only units. Several of the resulting battalions were sent to the front lines to fight against Germany. Estimates of the number of women who fought range in the several thousands.

This isn't the first time that Battlefield 1 has featured relatively unknown and underrepresented units. The cover of the game and one of the chapters in its story highlight the Harlem Hellfighters, the first African American regiment to serve with the American military during the war. In addition, the "Nothing Is Written" chapter of the story features a playable female Bedouin rebel.

Battlefield 1's In the Name of the Tsar DLC pack is planned for release in late summer, and it'll be shown off at EA's E3 event in June. In addition, Battlefield 1 is getting several other pieces of content this summer, including the Nivelle Nights and Prise de Tahure maps. All DLC is included in Battlefield 1's Premium pass.