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**Archive Record: The Great Emu War**

**First documented:** 1932  
**Category:** Forgotten History  
**Current status:** Concluded / Historical event  
**Media Source:** [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Emu_Commander.jpg)

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### Overview

The Great Emu War was a bizarre nuisance wildlife management military operation in Australia. It involved the deployment of soldiers armed with Lewis machine guns to the Campion district of Western Australia to combat a "plague" of 20,000 emus.

Despite the military's firepower, the emus proved surprisingly difficult to control, repeatedly avoiding the soldiers and frustrating the operation. After several attempts, the Australian forces withdrew, turning the event into a lasting symbol of an unusual military failure.

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### Historical Context

Following the Great Depression, the Australian government encouraged WWI veterans to take up farming in Western Australia. By 1932, the region was hit by a massive migration of emus following their breeding season. The birds devastated wheat crops, broke vital fences, and allowed rabbits to enter and destroy what little remained.

The farmers, many of whom were ex-soldiers, petitioned the Minister of Defence, Sir George Pearce, for military assistance. They requested machine guns, believing the operation would be a simple "target practice" exercise.

The deployment consisted of:
* Major G.P.W. Meredith of the Royal Australian Artillery
* Two soldiers armed with two Lewis guns
* 10,000 rounds of ammunition

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### Why It Mattered

The conflict is remembered as a surreal moment where modern military technology met biological unpredictability:

* **Tactical Resilience:** The emus displayed "guerrilla" tactics, splitting into small groups and outrunning the soldiers' range.
* **The "Tank" Bird:** Soldiers noted that emus could sustain multiple hits from machine-gun fire and continue running as if uninjured.
* **National Embarrassment:** The event highlighted the limitations of using heavy military weaponry for agricultural pest control.
* **Historical Absurdity:** It remains one of the few instances in history where a professional military officially conducted a military operation against on an animal and lost.

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### What Happened?

The "war" officially took place in two stages between November and December 1932. During the first attempt, the emus stayed out of range or ambushed the troops in ways that jammed the guns. Major Meredith notably remarked, "If we had a military division with the bullet-carrying capacity of these birds, it would face any army in the world."

After a second, slightly more effective but still largely unsuccessful attempt, the military withdrew. The government realized the cost was too high and the optics were becoming a laughingstock in the press.

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### Legacy

The Great Emu War has achieved legendary status in internet culture, often cited as a prime example of historical absurdity. It remains a cautionary tale of environmental mismanagement and the folly of overestimating technology against nature.

Instead of military force, the Australian government eventually implemented a bounty system and more effective exclusion fencing, which proved far more successful than machine guns. Major Meredith’s dream of an emu-fueled army remains, thankfully, a footnote of history.

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### Sources

* Australian Department of Defence historical logs (1932)
* *The West Australian* archive: "The Emu War" daily reporting
* Royal Australian Artillery museum records

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### Related Links

* 📜 **Category:** [Forgotten History](https://www.reddit.com/r/ForgottenArchive/comments/1v5veht/forgotten_history/)
* 📚 **Archive Index:** [The Forgotten Archive Index](https://www.reddit.com/r/ForgottenArchive/comments/1v5sxc7/forgotten_archive_index/)

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*Forgotten things are still part of history.*

The Great Emu War — When Australia’s Military Lost to Flightless Birds