00:10In November 1932, Australia deployed soldiers and machine guns against an enemy that did not know it was at war.
00:21The enemy was a bird.
00:31Many of the farmers were First World War veterans, who had been given marginal land in Western Australia.
00:39Then the Great Depression arrived.
00:43Wheat prices collapsed.
00:51And then thousands of emus moved through the fields.
01:01The farmers asked the government for help.
01:03We cannot hold out much longer.
01:05These birds are destroying our livelihood.
01:07We will send the military.
01:10The government agreed to provide military assistance.
01:21Major GPW Meredith was sent with two soldiers and Lewis machine guns.
01:31They had thousands of rounds of ammunition.
01:41Then they found a group of roughly 550 emus.
01:46There they are, right on schedule.
01:50They opened fire.
02:01The birds scattered, which, strategically, was extremely helpful to the birds.
02:12Emus were fast and difficult to target, and did not politely remain in one convenient flock.
02:21One attempt was made to mount a machine gun on a truck.
02:32Unfortunately, the truck could not keep up with the emus.
02:35And the gunner could not aim properly over the bumps.
02:41After about a week, Major Meredith withdrew.
02:51After about a week, Major Meredith withdrew.
03:02A second attempt began in December, and reportedly achieved better results.
03:06But the reputation damage was already done.
03:10The farmers eventually relied on bounties rather than artillery.
03:14And the Great Emu War entered history as the war in which the emus were never actually defeated.
03:20The Great Emu War entered history as the war in which the emus were not found.
03:20But the
