Pearl Witherington — The Woman Who Commanded an Army

British woman Pearl Witherington was rejected by the SOE three times for field work before finally being sent to France in 1943. Working undercover as a lingerie saleswoman, she built one of the most effective sabotage networks in Occupied France. When her SOE male commanding officer was arrested, she took command of the entire 'Wrestler' network — 3,000+ French Maquis fighters. Under her leadership, they derailed 20+ trains, blew up bridges, and captured 18,000 German soldiers before Allied forces arrived in the region. The British government later offered her an OBE, but she refused it for decades, saying: 'I only did what I knew how to do.' She eventually accepted a CBE at age 90, in 2004.