In 1932 the Australian army was defeated by emu

In 1932, Australian farmers has fallen trouble: their lands settled a giant flock of birds and threatened to destroy the entire crop of wheat. And it was not the birds, which can scare straw man. It was an emu - creation of under two meters tall, with a good appetite and a clear intention to stay for a long time farmland. And there was not less than 20 thousand.

There remained one hope - to the army. For the "hostilities" have equipped two regiments of soldiers led by Major Force, Royal Australian Artillery Meredith.

The first phase of the operation showed excellent ability of emu on the part of guerrilla warfare. Firstly, it turned out that the birds of any kind are not willing to come together, to them it was convenient to handle, and prefer to scatter across the fields, so that had to hunt for each separately. Second, they run fast and be close to them at the desired distance is not so easy.

Plenty to urge his soldiers through the fields, Meredith decided to change tactics, ambush and lure birds to the local dam. And indeed after some time the military saw a group of about a thousand emus. When the birds come very close, Meredith ordered "Fire!" And then ... broke a machine gun. Birds scattered.

Desperate Meredith ordered to load another defective machine gun on a truck and shoot the elusive emu on the move, like a movie gangster, but, as it turned out, these birds to overtake the truck does not cost anything, and make accurate shot from the machine, shaking the fields, it is practically impossible . The chase ended when the truck drove into a fence and then stalled. Captain Meredith had no choice but to admit defeat and return back home in disgrace.

Score: 10 thousand machine-gun bursts into a thousand birds killed.

via factroom.ru