Second, like previously stated, many women fought for the Soviet Union. The main branches that comes to mind for me personally would be the 586th Air Defense Force and the branch known as "Night Witches" (the 588th Night Bomber Regiment). To be honest though, I am not sure about ground forces because the area of study I like to focus on is the aviation side of history. The main area that I study the most, because I own the most books on, would be the Luftwaffe. If you want to have fun learning about women in World War II, I suggest looking into Lydia Litvyak or the Night Witches if you want to get started. Or, look into the roles of increased social freedom in the work field for the women of the United States.
Women in the Soviet Red Army were often in sniper units and tank battalions. They were also serving as front line medics, radio-communications, and field gun crewing. All these positions were prone to getting bombed and shelled. (The Eastern Front almost ignored all war rules, medics and rear echelon personnel were often priority targets).
Here's one of the pictures of the few female commanders in the Red army. If I am not mistaken, Aleksandra Samusenko died from a tank running over her.
Correct me if I am wrong, but the Soviet policy for women at the time shifted around a lot as the years pass by. One year they are all up for women being able to take up factory jobs and joining the armed forces. Another year they try to promote women to raise families and even gave out rewards and national recognition for women who birthed multiple children.
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