EA has offered up some further details about the second planned expansion for Battlefield 1, In the Name of the Tsar, and it seems that the package will introduce something many fans have been requesting for some time. Female soldiers are set to join the fray, inspired by the exploits of the Russian Women's Battalion of Death.

In 1917, a peasant woman called Maria Bochkareva who had served in the Russian army since 1914 petitioned officials to form a battalion of female soldiers. The minister of war authorized the initiative, and the Women's Battalion of Death would go on to become infamous for its willingness to go over the top to push back opposing forces.

A tweet posted on the official Battlefield Twitter account earlier today confirms that the Women's Battalion of Death will be introduced to Battlefield 1. It seems that the unit will be represented by the Russian scout class in multiplayer.

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The idea of introducing female combatants to the franchise has been floated before. In 2013, a producer on Battlefield 4 explained that DICE didn't want to make this move for the sake of it, even though rival FPS Call of Duty: Ghosts was set to offer playable female characters.

The producer cited the cost of creating new character models and recording voice acting as the reason that women weren't playable in Battlefield 4. Since female characters are being introduced via DLC in Battlefield 1, it seems that the studio has figured out a way to balance the books.

DICE has made no secret of its ambition to make Battlefield 1 a detailed representation of World War I, so it's good to see the studio making an effort to represent the broad spectrum of people who lost their lives in the conflict. In the Name of the Tsar is set to be unveiled at EA Play 2017, which is scheduled to take place on June 10, 2017.

Battlefield 1 is available now for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.

Source: Battlefield – Twitter