the army as a whole, with a center wing (the king's bodyguards) flanked on both sides, each under separate commanders. Some accounts note that each male soldier had a mino counterpart. In one mid-19th-century account by an English observer, it was documented that the women who had three stripes of whitewash around each leg were honoured with marks of distinction. The women's army consisted of a number of regiments: huntresses, riflewomen, reapers, archers and gunners. Each regiment had different uniforms, weapons and commanders. In the latter period, the Dahomean female warriors were armed with Winchester rifles, clubs and knives. Units were under female command. An 1851 published translation of a war chant of the women claims the warriors would chant: "[a]s the blacksmith takes an iron bar and by fire changes its fashion so have we changed our nature. We are no longer women, we are men." Conflict with neighbouring kingdoms The Agojie battles consisted mainly within Africa against various kingdoms and tribes. During that time period it was customary that once an enemy was defeated they would be killed or enslaved. Many African tribes participated in this and Dahomey was no exception. They would often enslave their enemies and sell them to European slave traders in exchange for weaponry for battle. As early as 1728, under the direction of King Gezo, the Dahomean army conquered the kingdoms of Whydah, and Popos. In 1840, they helped to capture the fortress of the Mahee at Attahapahms. However, it was at the hands of their long-standing enemy Abeokuta that they suffered crushing defeat, resulting in many casualties. Conflict with France First Franco-Dahomean War European encroachment into West Africa gained pace during the latter half of the 19th century, and in 1890 King Béhanzin started fighting French forces in the course of the First Franco-Dahomean War. European observers noted that the women "handled admirably" in hand-to-hand combat, but fired their flintlocks from the hip rather than firing from the shoulder. The Mino participated in one major battle: Cotonou, where thousands of Dahomeans (including many Mino) charged the French lines and engaged the defenders in hand-to-hand combat. The Mino were decisively crushed, with several hundred Dahomey troops being gunned down. Reportedly, 129 Dahomey fighters were killed in melee combat within the French lines. Second Franco-Dahomean War By the end of the Second Franco-Dahomean War, special units of the Mino were being assigned specifically to