The Great Emu War of 1932

In 1932, the Australian military officially declared war on 20,000 emus that were destroying crops in Western Australia.

• The Combatants: Three soldiers, two Lewis machine guns, and 10,000 rounds of ammunition vs. 20,000 flightless birds.
• The Result: The emus won.
• Why it’s funny: The emus adopted “guerrilla tactics.” They broke into small groups so the soldiers couldn’t aim effectively. One commander, Major Meredith, famously 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 month of failed attempts and thousands of wasted rounds, the military surrendered.