Stories about military history often focus on battlefield tactics and strategy. When they do focus on people, it is usually on a male soldier. However, during WWII, the Germans often executed female soldiers on sight.
This is doubly amazing because it suggests women were a significant part of the fighting forces and that they provoked a visceral reaction from the Germans who captured them.
Ancient battlefields were often just outside their city walls, and rulers formed armies composed of people who were normally peace-time farmers.
With limited manpower, the bulk of the conscripts were needed for fighting. The remaining camp followers transported supplies, prepared the food, and performed other non-combat functions in order to maximize the availability of men for combat.
The lack of weapons and armor for camp followers allowed them to carry more supplies than the soldiers, thus extending the operating range. It also speeds up the march to their destination. Based on rough estimates from other ancient armies, it has been concluded that non-combatants constituted roughly 33% to 50% of the army. It is assumed that these additional women and children allowed the maximum number of soldiers to perform military tasks, such as scouting or building and manning city walls.
But when the army was defeated or attacked in their camps or cities, the women often became easy victims or active participants in battle. In crusader cities under siege, women were recorded as manning the wall with a pot as a helmet. Some scholars suggest the strange headgear highlights the otherness of women fighting in a traditionally male domain.