In 1932 Australia sent soldiers with machine guns to stop 20,000 emus rampaging through wheat fields. 

What followed was a national embarrassment and earned the emus a reputation as the victors of one of history's strangest wars.

Dr Ruth Morgan tells Marc Fennell (Stuff The British Stole) the wild story of the Emu War: what happens when a country goes to war with a flightless bird but realises the true enemy is something much larger and more formidable... 

This is the first episode in the special series This Stupid War. Listen to the full series in the No One Saw It Coming podcast feed on ABC listen (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts.

Get in touch:

Got a story for us? We'd love to hear from you! Email us at [email protected]