Could we reverse history and restore the pride and honour of the Royal Australian Artillery? Or would the Emu horde advance unstoppable through the Western Australian wheat belt?

Armed with Lewis guns, and commanded by Major G. P. W. Meredith, the campaign commenced on the morning of November 2, 1932.

Whenever native animals are in plague proportion in Australia there is always a vociferous debate around the efficacy of any culling. In 1932 the situation was the same, with farmers saying the Emus were destroying their crops and most of the media and city folk against it.

A lot of debate centres around the Australian Coat-of-Arms with the argument along the lines of “how could we destroy our national emblems/symbols”?

The emu, a large flightless bird, weren’t however, always seen as a harmless symbol of national identity. In the past, they were seen as pests threatening the livelihood of farmers who had to live alongside these animals.

The two protagonists.

The soldiers are from Australian Wartime Miniatures, sadly no longer in production, and the emus are a combination of Andrews 3D prints and Eureka Miniatures.

In 1932, the Australian government took a heavy-handed approach to dealing with the problem and called in the military. What happened next would be known as the Great Emu War.

The two military team consisted of one sniper and a squad of five men including two Lewis guns. Wayne and I were primed ready to seek revenge for our forebears.

The Great Emu War began on November 2, when the Australians spotted advance elements of the emu horde and sprang into action. With the assistance of the local farmers, they attempted to herd the emus into an ambush, but contrary to what they expected, the birds did not stick together but scattered, making them difficult targets.

The emu contingent consisted of eight mobs of 5 emus.

Later in the day, after encountering a small flock, the Australians tried again, but with similar results.

Three mobs of emus advance in the centre – they have already secured one haystack.

The objective was for the emus to be within three inches of an objective (representing water sources and wheat crops) at the end of turn six. The army wins from preventing them from achieving this.

Two days later, Meredith and his team had painstakingly prepared an ambush at a nearby dam. They waited in silence as a battalion (mob) of around 1,000 emus approached the water. At virtually point-blank range, the Australians opened fire, but after a few rounds, the Lewis machine gun jammed, and the emus managed to escape with relatively few casualties.

The army advances to take on their foes.

It is difficult to assess the emu losses, as the animals tended to run away before dying from their wounds. By the third day, only around 30 emus had been killed. From an army of 20,000, this was hardly a dent.

Emus under attack – initially shooting was ineffective.

The next few days also saw limited success. The emus responded to the danger and split into smaller groups, each with one tall emu (a male called a “cock”) on the lookout while the others continued the destruction of the wheat crops. Meredith and his men mounted their Lewis machine gun on the back of a truck, but this proved ineffective as the ground was too rough for both the truck to gain a speed advantage and the gun to be accurate.

The gunners disperse one mob

The Australian soldiers, of course, had help from the local farmers who tried to herd the emus. A truck was brought in and used to ram and run over the birds. One emu got its head stuck in the steering wheel, causing the driver to panic and crash the truck.

Close range fire was devastating.

On November 8, amid bad press and poor performance in the field, Meredith and his team were forced to withdrawn. Most of this information from National Geographic

A sniper guards one of the objectives in order to hinder the Emu communication lines!

Andrew, who was running the game, was using a severely modified version of Bolt Action. The Emus were given no attack or shooting capabilities. I disagreed with the lack of close combat capability, because if you have ever come close to an emu they can be intimidating and their claws and beaks can be dangerous.

Another mob almost wiped out.

Another mob in rout. The emus were starting to falter.

Charge by a sniper another mob of emus disperses.

The cards (red and black) were used to determine initiative order.

The tide was turning as the army was forcing the emus away from their food and water.

A near run thing with the emus 2 to the army 3!

In reality why did the emus win? My guess is the Emu command had ordered guerrilla tactics, and its larger unwieldy army soon split up into innumerable small units that made use of the local terrain they new only too well. A crestfallen Australian field force therefore withdrew from the combat area after only six days.

A great game was had by all.

Historical photos from several websites.