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| The 2nd Emu War | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the The Emu Wars | |||||
| |||||
| Belligerents | |||||
Commonwealth of Australia
United Kingdom
Indonesia
United States of America
New Zealand
African Union
Sweden(Materiel Support) |
Emus Cassowaries Rheas | ||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||
|
General Max
Marcellus Glabella, 1st Earl of Walhalla
Matthew Nottingham
Nathan Seacole, 1st Earl of Geraldton
Anton Horsten
Thomas Edward Rose, 1st Earl of Shepparton |
Eustace Redime Cecil Bolisario Beak Diomedes Kaaww Septimus Skreech | ||||
| Strength | |||||
| A lot | Unknown | ||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||
| 1.08 million | Unknown | ||||
The 2nd Emu War was an armed conflict between the Commonwealth of Australia (and their allies) and the Emus (and their allies) which took place between December 2016 and April 2017, leaving 1.08 million humans dead and countless emus.
Background
The Emus of Australia and the Humans of Australia had fought a long and bloody war from 1932 to 1989, ending in millions of deaths and the retreat of emu-kind into the outback. Hatred brewed between the two races, with neither attempting rapprochment.
Two major conflicts occured in between the 1st and 2nd Emu Wars. These were the East Victoria Campaign and the Broken Hill Incident these led to further tensions between the Australians and the Emus.
Outbreak of War
Tension spilled into armed conflict on the 11th of December 2016, when Emu forces under General Eustace Redime attacked the Northern Territory town of Alice Springs, causing much destruction and provoking an immediate reaction from the Australian Army and British Expeditionary Force (BEF) in Australia, both of which immediately mobilised and prepared to counter-attack. One group of refugees, led by historian and retired soldier Matthew Nottingham escaped to the town of Tennant Creek, many miles to the North, only to come under attack by a division of emus split off from the main force. By the end of the day, Australian forces under Major General Marcellus Glabella had liberated Alice Springs, while a unit of the Royal Lancers, attached to the BEF, liberated Tennant Creek.
Meanwhile, in Queensland, the Cassowaries under Cecil Bolisario Beak marched on Rockhampton.
First Stages of the War, December 2016
The BEF began to muster at Katherine, while the Australian Army mobilised. A state of emergency was declared on the morning on the 12th December.
The Race to Darwin
The BEF at Katherine numbered twenty-thousand when, in the early afternoon, an emu surprise attack by elements of the Emu forces heading for Darwin wiped out most of the existing BEF command structure. The following Battle of Katherine was a massacre, seeing 13,000 BEF casualties, and leading the 7,000 survivors to hurry to Darwin in retreat.
Hearing of the news, the Australian Army dispatched Major General Glabella and his division - the nearest in the field - to reinforce Darwin. A race between Emu and Human forces ensued, as the British and Australians hurried to reach Darwin before it was overrun by Emu forces. The BEF reached Darwin on the morning of the 13th December, followed by the Australians at noon. The siege began almost immediately, as the Emus arrived within hours of the Australians.
The British Government resolved to deploy its reserve force of 40,000 men under General WG Grace, setting into motion Operation Cochrane - the advanced new method of deploying large forces over long distances at very short notice.
The Siege of Darwin
The Emus immediately began a land blockade around Darwin, but were unable to prevent supplies coming in by boat, preventing any hopes of victory through attrition. Instead, the Emu forces began heavy shelling of the city, accompanied by repeated attacks on its defences. Colonel Rose, a hero of the First Emu War and East Victoria Campaign began co-ordinating the British forces in Darwin, sending reports to the new BEF commander General Grace, and working with the Australian commander in Darwin, Major General Glabella.
While Emu forces in Northern Territory gathered around Darwin, the refugee Historian Matthew Nottingham began organising the Northern Territory Resistance, a guerilla force that quickly began disrupting Emu operations in NT.
BEF reinforcements arrived in Darwin on the 15th December, with Colonel Rose being placed in charge of the 4th Cavalry Division and promoted to Major General. Joint planning with the Australian Army facilitated the Battle of Darwin on the 17th, at which the Emu besiegers were routed with heavy casualties.
The Fall of Perth and Geraldton
While the Human forces focussed on Darwin, a devastating emu attack - the success of which has still not been fully explained - captured Perth on the 13th December, beginning what would be one of the longest occupations in the Second Emu War. An attack the next day sacked the nearby town of Geraldton, forcing the flight of Nathan Seacole and other residents (aided by Sergeant Matthew Ickles), who formed the Geraldton Volunteers on the 18th December, and marched North to Darwin.
After the relief of Darwin, Major General Glabella was ordered to lead his forces to Adelaide, where troops were mustering for the liberation of Perth, however he was ambushed by Emu forces en route on the 19th, and held in captivity. In response, the BEF marched to liberate Glabella, doing so on the 20th. For their services, many of the British commanders, including Rose, were knighted.
The BEF then marched to besiege Perth, while the Australians moved to gather their forces to defend Northern Territory, Western Australia and Queensland.
Early Naval Operations
Suspicion of Emu naval capabilities triggered an immediate deployment of the Royal Australian Navy in the Timor Sea, the Arafura Sea, the Coral Sea and the Gulf of Carpentaria, followed by an additional deployment in the Indian Ocean - the entirety of Fleet West, stationed in Perth, was deployed mere hours before the Emu occupation. Indonesia's role in the war began with its participation in the early Anti-Emu Naval Patrol on the 14th December.
Christmas Truce 20th-22nd December
An early truce attempt was announced on the 20th December, with both sides hoping for time to recuperate. However the Northern Territory Resistance controversially defied the truce, while the Cassowaries denied that it affected them. This led both sides to believe the truce was a ruse, leading to its quick disintegration.
Early Action in Queensland
Emu Attacks on Rockhampton and Port Douglas were repulsed on the 12th and 13th of December respectively. An abortive attack on Port Douglas was launched again on the 15th of December. The forces of Bolivario Beak seemed undeterred, quickly establishing dominance of the rest of Cape York Peninsula. Seeking to combine with sympathetic New Guinea Cassowaries, Beak ordered the beginning of the Torrest Strait Campaign on the 19th December, launching a series of attacks on the Torres Strait Islands, beginning a long and largely stalemated theatre of the war.
Beak's great breakthrough came on the 26th December when he led an all-out attack on the Army of Queensland under Lieutenant General Gill Gilliam, shattering Gilliam's forces, and allowing for the capture ofTownsville on the 28th of December, and Mackay, Port Douglas and Cairns on the 29th December. Gilliam and his forces fought a fighting retreat to Brisbane, where they prepared for further attacks. Rockhampton fell to Emu forces on the 30th December, Sunshine Coast the 31st.
The War in Western Australia
By Christmas Day, no one could doubt that the Truce was over. Emu forces marched into Broome amid the Christmas festivities, confirming their control of almost all of Western Australia. This flagrant disregard for the Truce which was still officially in force prompted the Australian government to allow the formation of Special Squadron 1 "The Exterminators" under a man known only as "Rhodes". The BEF, meanwhile, began the First Siege of Perth.
The effective Emu defeat in the Northern Territory was consolidated by the Battle on Boxing Day (or 2nd Battle of Katherine), where a combination of remnant Western Australian forces numbering 7,000 defeated a 20,000-strong Emu force. The victorious Australian army then marched to Hall's Creek, where they established a foothold for the liberation of Western Australia on the 28th December. The First Siege of Perth was not going well - Emu forces were constantly harassing the besiegers, while relief forces from elsewhere in Western Australia bore down upon the BEF. On the 27th December, only a day after the siege began, General WG Grace committed suicide. Lieutenant General Sir Oliver Martin took over as General Officer Commanding.
After the Battle on Boxing Day, the Army of Western Australia was formed, with Glabella (promoted to Lieutenant General) in command. The first operation of this force was to aid General Martin's full withdrawal from the First Siege of Perth on the 28th December.
The 29th December saw the first success of the new Army of Western Australia, now incorporating the remnant forces that had fought on Boxing Day, with the Liberation of Broome on the 29th December. The BEF and Army of Western Australia then liberated Derby the next day, before repelling a large counter-attack in the Battle of Derby on the 30th December. The Kimberley Region was deemed secure on the 31st December.
The Sack of Canberra
On the 28th December, a surprise Emu attack sacked the Federal Capital of Canberra, with the Government only narrowly escaping. Most of the city was burnt to the ground, while many key documents were stolen, and the Chief of Army, General Max, was killed defending the Parliament Building.
The War Spreads, Early 2017
On the 1st January 2017, Lieutenant General Marcellus Glabella was promoted to the rank of General and appointed Chief of Army. He immediately set about reorganising the Australian defences, and seeing to the promotion of figures such as Matthew Nottingham - made a Colonel in the Army of Western Australia, and Nathan Seacole, made a Major in the same. He coordinated the defence of Brisbane with Lt General Gilliam, with whom he had an excellent working relationship, sending reinforcements from the Army of New South Wales.
The Liberation of the Western Australian Coast
The BEF marched to Onslow and Port Hedland on the 1st January, liberating the two towns with the help of the newly arrived Indonesian Army. The two forces combined as the Combined Anglo-Indonesian Allied Army (colloquially known as Kaia), under the command of General Officer Commanding-in-Chief (GOC-in-C) General Sir Oliver Martin. The BEF reorganised into two Corps under the CAIAA, the first under Martin's personal command, the second under Rose, promoted to Lieutenant General.
Meanwhile, the Army of Western Australia, under the personal command of General Glabella, liberated Exmouth.
The 3rd January saw further successes on the Western coast, as the Geraldton Reserve - operating under the Army of Western Australia - liberatedGeraldton, and the CAIAA liberated the towns of Northam and Moora. The CAIAA began Operation Potato Sack - the encirclement of Perth - with the Liberation of Fremantle and Bunbury on the 5th January. Augusta was liberated on 6th January, completing the encirclement of Perth and starting the 2nd Siege. However, any hopes of an imminent victory had been dashed as soon as they appeared on 3rd January when the Emus began their attacks in Tasmania, prompting General Glabella to begin transfer most of the Army of Western Australia to Tasmania on the 5th January. General Glabella proceeded to take personal command of the Army of Tasmania. The Army of Western Australia was left more or less in abeyance as the war in the state calmed down, with the CAIAA holding the siege of Perth, and units such as the Kalgoorlie Light Infantry under Colonel Huckleberry Ordericus Bantham fought to liberate the WA outback.
The Battle of Brisbane, 2nd January 2017 and the Beginning of the Queensland Campaign
General Glabella flew to Brisbane immediately after the Liberation of Exmouth, joining Lt General Gilliam in the defence of the city. The Cassowary attacks were repulsed at great cost, allowing Gilliam to begin the Queensland Campaign in earnest, organising the Army of Queensland into a Northern Division (the troops fighting in the Torres Strait, who would landed on the Northern Cape York Peninsula on the 1st January, and the Southern Division, the troops which fought at Brisbane.
Southern Division quickly liberated the Sunshine Coast on 3rd January, while Northern Division liberated Nanum the same day. Rockhampton was liberated on the 6th January and Mackay on the 7th, while Northern DIvision became bogged down in the rainforest. The fighting in Queensland in the Cape York Peninsula was typical of jungle warfare - hard, bloody and slow.
The War in Tasmania
The Army of Tasmania, a single-division force at the start of the Tasmanian Theatre, was unable to hold most of the island against the forces of Emu commander High Master Diomedes Kaaww, with almost all but Hobart occupied. Colonel Nottingham, a native of Tasmania himself, was faked his own death on the 6th January, allowing him to join the Exterminators once again, and begin investigating the Emu superweapon 'The Stone Burner'.
The 5th and 6th January saw fighting in the Port Augusta, South Australia, as Emu forces attempted to delay the arrival of the 2nd Division, Army of Tasmania - the troops formerly of the Army of Western Australia, including Major Seacole and the Geraldton Reserve - in Tasmania. The 15,000-strong Division would eventually land at Hobart on the 7th January - 'E-Day'. These troops quickly saw great success, liberating Ross on 10th January. Following the liberation of East Tasmania, the forces of High Master Kaaww launched a strong counter-attack from his bases in the Pelion Mountains, trapping 2nd Division with 100,000 men at Reynold's Neck on the 14th of January. The ensuing Battle of Reynold's Neck proved to be one of the most stunning Human victories of the war, as the Geraldton Reserve under Major Seacole fought a successful last stand on Reynold's Island, massacring the bottlenecked Emu forces. Both Divisions of the Army of Tasmania then moved to retake the Pelion Mountains. Emu attacks in the Mornington Peninsula, Victoria, led General Glabella to believe an Emu attack there was imminent, so he took personal command of the Army of Victoria on 15th January, confident that the fighting in Tasmania would soon be over. However, the situation in Tasmania was complicated by the signing of the Emu-Magpie Compact on 17th January. Fears of Emu resurgence in Tasmania were quelled by the capture of High Master Kaaww the next day, for which Major Seacole was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel. Magpie air superiority in Tasmania would be broken in the Battle of Woolnorth on 25th January, marking the effective end of the War in Tasmania. Tasmania was deemed secure on the 29th January, and majority of the Army of Tasmania was transferred to Victoria.
The Second Siege of Perth, 6th January-1st February
With most of the Emu forces in Western Australia subdued, the Second Siege of Perth proved more sedate than the First. CAIAA began shelling the city on the 8th January, with the emus returning fire almost immediately. Severe damage was done to CAIAA by attacks on 14th January, but apart from this, little would occur until 20th January. On the 20th of January, an emu shelling attack struck a routine patrol of the 1st Battalion, Royal Lancers - Lt General Rose's own unit, whom he had opted to join on patrol that day. Rose and 38 men narrowly managed to escape, but were forced to flee North by Emu guerillas. Rose was thought dead by all.
Rose rode to Lake Disappointment and from there to Derby, which he reached on the 29th of January. He returned to CAIAA on the 3rd of February, by which time the Second Siege was over.
Nottingham Undercover
After his faked death on the 6th January, Nottingham, under the guise of 'The Thylacine', worked closely with the Exterminators, taking part in their series of hit-and-run nighttime raids on Emu forces causing great unease throughout the Emus, and creating the myth of The Thylacine, one of their most feared and hated adversaries. In this time Nottingham was also able to locate the Emu 'Stone Burner' their immensely powerful incendiary weapon, capable of burning entire cities to dust. Nottingham, with the help of the Northern Territory Resistance, captured the bomb in Santa Teresa, NT, and set it on a train aimed right for the heart of Perth - arranging with General Martin for it to be let through. The bomb detonated on the 1st February, destroying Perth and its Emu defenders.
The Victoria Campaign
After the initial Emu attacks in mid-January, the Emu assault on the Mornington Peninsula began in earnest on the 18th of January, overwhelming the peninsula on the 20th, and capturing General Glabella. The Army of Victoria fell back to Melbourne, where it prepared to defend the city. General Glabella was rescued on the 22nd of January by the Exterminators, allowing him to prepare the defences of Melbourne. The Siege began on the 28th, with major magpie bombing raids on the 29th. General Glabella proceeded to organise the 2nd Army of Victoria, to relieve the siege, and ordered the forces of the Army of Tasmania to liberate the Mornington Peninsula. The Army of Tasmania was successful in this endeavour, but Lieutenant Colonel Seacole was captured in the fighting, and sent to the emu camps at Santa Teresa - where, by a stroke of luck, he was freed by Colonel Nottingham.
General Glabella's new 2nd Army of Victoria encircled the besieging emu forces, creating a double encirclement of Melbourne. General Glabella promoted Colonel Nottingham to Lieutenant General, and appointed him Deputy Chief of Army, while Lieutenant Colonel Seacole was promoted to Major General, and placed in command of the Army of Tasmania. Together, the Army of Tasmania and 2nd Army of Victoria fought the Battle of Melbourne for five days, until, on the 5th of February, the Emu forces detonated a huge explosion, and, through a series of tunnels abandoned since the East Victoria Campaign, escaped the encirclement. General Glabella disappeared in the debacle, severely wounded amidst the rubble. He managed to escape into the Bush, where he was found by a civilian on the 8th of February, who nursed him until she was killed by Emus on the 10th. Lt General Nottingham was able to find him on the 12th.
The Battle of Perth, 5th-8th February
Following the detonation of the Stone Burner and the return of Lt General Rose, there was much rejoicing in CAIAA. However, as they celebrated, a surprise Emu attack decimated the 1st Corps BEF, killing General Martin. In response, Lt General Rose took over as GOC-in-C, and led over 80,000 CAIAA and armed civilian troops in fighting the emu forces. The Battle of Perth was on an unprecedented scale, with 80,000 Humans fighting roughly 250,000 Emus. The bloodbath lasted for three days, until Lt General Nottingham and Major General Seacole, with the Armies of South Australia, Tasmania and Victoria intervened on the 8th, ending the battle. The rejoicing that followed was not mitigated by any surprise attack.
The Fall of Sydney
The victory at Perth was followed within hours by news of the Fall of Sydney. General Eustace Redime had orchestrated the entire series of Battles in Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia specifically so he could marshal his forces in New South Wales unopposed. The Army of New South Wales was shattered on the 7th February, with Sydney falling to his forces the next day. Redime set up his new headquarters in Government House, and prepared his grand plan to end the war.
The Queensland Campaign Continues
Townsville, one of the first towns to fall to the Cassowaries, was liberated by Southern Division on the 10th of January, while Cairns was besieged on the 15th. Both Southern and Nothern Division became bogged down in the rainforest, as the Cassowaries began to defend their home turf. Cairns was finally liberated on the 20th, followed by Port Douglas on the 25th. The Cassowaries were now completely penned into their original territory.
This proved a major advantage for Beak and the Cassowaries, as they were able to launch a successful attack on Northern Division, pushing it back to Mapoon on the 1st of February. Meanwhile, Southern Division's attempt to push North to Cooktown was routed on the 5th, falling back to Cairns and Port Douglas, where Beak besieged them on 9th of February. Northern Division pushed back to Nanum on the 7th.
Sideshows
The Argentine Conflict
The Rheas of Argentina, inspired by the exploits of their emu brethren, overthrew the Argentine government on the 24th of January, establishing the state of Argenrheana. War quickly broke out with Chile and Bolivia, and would last until well after the end of the Second Emu War.
Rhea troops would be sent to Australia to aid the Emus in the final Battle of Sydney.
The War Comes to An End, March/April 2017
Operation Trident
In Perth, General Rose, Lt General Nottingham and Major General Seacole organised their forces into Alpha, Bravo and Charlie Columns. Alpha, under General Rose, consisting of CAIAA and various militia organisations, advanced through the Northern Territory to Queensland; Bravo, under Major General Seacole, consisting of the Army of Tasmania and 2nd Army of Victoria, marched through the centre of Australia; while Charlie, commanded by Lt General Nottingham and consisting of the Army of South Australia and 1st Army of Victoria, marched to Adelaide. The plan was to comprehensively destroy the remaining emu forces and to then converge for the liberation of Sydney.
The Army of the Blue Mountains
Glabella travelled to the Northern end of the Blue Mountains where he took command of the remnants of the Army of New South Wales, joining it up with remaining forces in Victoria and the ACT, to form the Army of the Blue Mountains. He stationed the Army in Canberra, where they defended the ruins of the city from Emu attack.
Operation Pitchfork
Redime caught wind of the Human plans almost immediately, and planned his counter-attack. Emu forces were divided into four 'prongs' Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Omega. Alpha was to defeat Alpha Column, Beta Bravo Column, Gamma the Army of the Blue Mountains and Omega Charlie Column.
Pitchfork and Trident set out on the 11th of February.
Snake's Tongue
Bravo Column was the first to meet Pitchfork. Major General Seacole, planning to join up with General Glabella and defeat Beta and Gamma prongs together, set a series of bushfires forcing the two prongs to meet. The combined force, formed on the 15th of February, was known as 'Snake's Tongue'.
However, General Glabella's forces were unable to reach the battle on time, and Snake's Tongue all but annihilated the 50,000-strong Bravo Column at the Battle of Durham, albeit at great cost. Snake's Tongue was reduced to 16,000, while the 3000 survivors of Bravo Column began a hard-fought guerilla campaign.
The Battle of Cairns, 17th of February
Alpha Column reached Cairns on the 17th February, where in cooperation with the Southern Division of the Army of Queensland, the Cassowaries were decisively defeated in the Battle of Cairns. Beak lay dead on the battlefield. Southern Division was able to march through the Peninsula, and the Army of Queensland joined Alpha Column.
The Battle of Toowoomba, 18th of February
Alpha Prong and Alpha Column met in the Battle of Toowoomba, where the 80,000 men of Alpha Column under General Rose soundly defeated the forces of Alpha Prong under High Chieftain Aurus Cawrium, who was killed in the fighting.
Charlie Column
Adelaide was evacuated on Lt General Nottingham's orders on the 15th February. Charlie Column met Omega Prong on the 17th of February, and was forced to retreat Adelaide. Overwhelmed, Lt General Nottingham fell back on Adelaide, ordering the raising of a conscript South Australia Militia under Major General MacCurtain. A fleet of the Royal Australian Navy under Rear Admiral Horsten rushed to Adelaide to prepare to evacuate Charlie Column, reaching the city on the 21st February. As the defences of Adelaide crumbled, the South Australia Militia was left behind in the confusion. Charlie Column was taken by the RAN to Flinder's Island.
The Defeat of Snake's Tongue and Omega Prong
Hearing of the defeat of Bravo and Charlie Columns, Generals Rose and Glabella agreed that Alpha Column would defeat Snake's Tongue, while the Army of the Blue Mountains, which had previously been en route to do so, would march to Adelaide to defeat Omega Prong.
General Rose defeated Snake's Tongue at a cost of 20,000 men on the 20th of February, while General Glabella defeated Omega Prong on the 27th.
The Melbourne Conference and the March on Sydney
For the first time in the war, all the major Armies stood in one place - Melbourne, on the 1st of March. A conference was held to determine the future course of the war, to discuss the course of Operation Trident and the aftermath of the war. It was agreed that a United Allied Army would be formed, commanded by General Rose, for the final assault on Sydney. It was further agreed that nothing less than an unconditional surrender would be accepted from the Emus. However, discussion of Operation Trident opened up serious grievances in allied command, as Major General MacCurtain accused Lt General Nottingham of abandoning Adelaide, while Lt General Nottingham suffered from bouts of paranoia, causing him to believe that General Rose and Major General MacCurtain were plotting with the Indonesians to overthrow Australia and kill him. General Glabella, meanwhile, succumbed to depression, while General Rose slipped into alcoholism.
Once the march began, however, the issues died down - Lt General Nottingham's paranoia dissipated, and a partial reconciliation with Major General MacCurtain was reached.
The quick respite at Melbourne also saw the appointment of Connor Allen, a staunch follower of Lt General Nottingham, as commander of Lt General Nottingham's cavalry, at the rank of Colonel.
The Liberation of Sydney, 7th of March - 17th of April
Allied command was established at Bathurst on the 7th of March, and the blockade of Sydney by the United Allied Army (UAA) and Royal Australian Navy was set in place. General Rose issued the plans for Operation Final Hour on the 11th of March, organising the United Allied Army into Army Group A under General Rose, attacking from the North; Army Group B under General Glabella, the North-West; Army Group C under Major General Seacole, the South-West and Army Group D under Lt General Nottingham, the South.
The plan was set in motion on the 14th March. Simultaneously, troops from the New Zealand Volunteer Rifles (NZVR), ferried over by the RAN, landed at Sydney Airport, taking it into allied hands. Major General Seacole's forces captured the Warragamba Dam on the first day of operations. By the 22nd of March, the UAA had established a ring surrounding central Sydney, however, on the 23rd, the NZVR was pushed back into the sea, with the death of Rear Admiral Horsten's son Lieutenant James Horsten.
The Royal Australian Navy then came into combat with the Rhea Navy, which had sailed from Argenrheana. The two fleets fought tooth and nail for the rest of the battle, ending only with the sinking of the HMAS Adelaide on the 16th of April, at which point both fleets retreated.
Army Group D met a large Emu force at Georges River on the 23rd March, and was only able to push on with the help of Army Group C. In the fighting, Lt General Nottingham disappeared in combat with an elite Emu unit known as 'Extinction Cadre', led by an Emu warrior known only as 'Typhon'. Major General Seacole took command of both Army Groups and marched on to Bankstown. General Glabella led Army Group B to Parramatta on the 22nd. On the 24th, General Glabella reached Rozelle, Major General Seacole reached Earlwood, and General Rose managed to cross the harbour, leaving a force on the Sydney Harbour Bridge to prevent a Northward Emu retreat. General Rose reached Sydney Airport on the 25th March. However, his forces became stuck their, suffering from heavy shelling on all sides - on the 9th of April, General Rose finally managed to break out from the Airport, pushing North to Sydney Park, where, realising he could not push through to Emu HQ, he prepared to fight to the last with his remaining 7000 men, in the Last Stand at Sydney Park. Army Group B crossed from Rozelle to Darling on the 7th of April, but its advance was halted in the Rocks. At the same time, an Emu attempt to overwhelm to the defenders of Sydney Harbour Bridge is defeated when the Bridge is brought down in a huge explosion. The arrival of Army Groups C and D, coupled with the diversion caused by Army Group A's last stand, allowed General Glabella to lead his forces into Government House on the 17th April. General Rose was shot dead by the last Emu forces the same day, while Lt General Nottingham and Typhon both died in a duel.
The war was over.
Aftermath
Victory did not unite the country. The destruction wrought by the conflict, coupled with the malign work of General Redime, brought discord and chaos to Australia, as a depleted and weakened government struggled to re-establish its hold. With the police practically destroyed, it fell to the Army and the newly-created state militias to maintain order. Rioting became commonplace as the struggling population turned desperate - groups such as the Antipodean Resistance and the Southern Iron Cross gathered members, while others such as Red Australia and the Marxist-Leninist Australian Workers' Party also gained ground. The deadliest riot was the Adelaide Massacre on the 29th of April, where 304 rioters from the Southern Iron Cross were killed, along with 433 South Australian Militia. This particular riot was spurred largely by the official ennobling of General Glabella as Earl of Walhalla and Major General Seacole as Earl of Geraldton in London the same day. General Glabella had become a controversial figure in the months immediately after the war, due to the speech he gave on the 21st April calling for reconciliation.
The Rosites
Government attempts at restoration remained impotent and half-hearted, with the first major sign of success being the partial return to what remained of Canberra on the 30th April. In these first months, the young Edgar, the Earl of Shepparton - the son of Field Marshal Rose, and recently appointed High Commissioner to Australia - and a group of young government officials began working to oppose the Prime Minister, in the absence of Parliament (which had been dissolved since the Sack of Canberra). This group received support from commanders of state militias as well as many politicians, and was soon known as the 'Rosites'. These Rosites also began organising grassroots restoration and aid projects, distributing food, water and medical supplies, and supporting the work of the state militias in maintaining order. At a meeting in rural Western Australia (in the house of Colonel Andrew Cornfield of the WADF) on the 25th May, the Rosites formally established themselves as the Restoration Party, and began campaigning against the Prime Minister in earnest.
The Restoration Party's Rise to Power
The Cornfield House Meeting chose Harry Gronville as the new leader, a young, charismatic politician and recently demobilised Lieutenant in the Yarralumla Regiment. He led a party with immense influence from the outset - all of the existing state militias were willing to listen to the party, while many mayors, along with the Premier of South Australia, Steve North, defected to the party. The organisation of the party's Clandestine Operations Department (COD), under the control of the Earl of Shepparton, facilitated the effective use of this influence. For example, the diffusal of the 30th May Uprising in Brisbane by the Queensland Militia (QLDM) and Northern Territory Reserve (NTR) was organised by the Earl of Shepparton through the COD. This particular incident was a huge embarassment for the PM, who had previously called for the disbandment of all state militias. Facing mounting pressure from all sides, the Prime Minister called an election on the 1st of June. Meanwhile, the Earl of Shepparton again used the COD to order Colonel Connor Allen organise the beginnings of merger talks between the NTR and the Northern Territory Self-Defence Force (NTSDF) - the successor to the Northern Territory Resistance, now led by Julie Davey, an old comrade of Lt General Nottingham - on the 2nd of June. The Earl of Shepparton, reminded by the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office of his need to remain neutral, amicably departed British service on the 4th of June.
The election, held under special conditions on the 16th of June, saw a landslide victory for the Restoration Party, with 117 seats in the House of Representatives and 52 seats in the Senate. Harry Gronville became Prime Minister, while the Earl of Shepparton became Minister for Defence, Security and Foreign Affairs. The new government immediately began work on a sweeping series of restoration projects, all across the country, managed largely under the auspices of the new Economic Restoration Agency (ERA). These projects included the rebuilding of Canberra along an almost completely new plan, intended to remedy many of the faults existing in the city.
The Darwin Insurgency, 10th-21st of June, 2017
In the middle of the already struggling NTR-NTSDF negotiations, a rural Arnhem Land NTR outpost 'went dark' on the 10th June, ceasing all communications with Darwin. The next day, Emu remnant forces began attacking Darwin itself. On the 13th of June, the NTSDF Headquarters in Daly Waters also came under attack. The situation was dire - the two forces were spread thinly across the territory, while the Australian Army's presence in NT had been low since December 2016. On multiple occassions it seemed that the emus would capture both cities. The situation was worsened by the flight of the NTR's commander, Major General Russon on the 17th of June. Major General Russon hijacked a civilian evacuation ship along with a small cadre of loyal NTR soldiers, and fled to Bathurst Island, where he hid in the tropical forest. The Insurgency was eventually defeated by General Glabella himself, defeating the Emus at the Battle of Birdum in the 21st of June. For his role in the conflict, Colonel Connor Allen was made a knight of the Order of Australia.
The NTR-NTSDF Merger
Prior to the Insurgency, talks were already going badly. Neither Major General Russon nor Major General Davey were willing to compromise, while Major General Russon made his racist opinions towards the aborigines - who made up a significant proportion of the NTSDF, including Major General Davey - perfectly clear. The situation was worsened on the 8th of June, when a sergeant in the NTR was fatally stabbed by an NTSDF trooper. The onset of the Darwin Insurgency caused an improvement in relations between the two forces, while the flight of Major General Russon served to remove him as an obstacle to the merger. Talks continued until Major General Russon's arrest by a joint NTR-NTSDF team on the 20th August. He was trialled, found guily and sentenced to life in prison on the 22nd of August. The NTR was integrated into the NTSDF on the 23rd of August.
The Gordon Affair
Colonel Allen, erstwhile comrade of Lt General Nottingham, had, on the Earl of Shepparton's orders, created the Victoria Volunteer Rifles (VVR) on the 24th August. The VVR was an immediate success, helping finalise the stabilisation of rural Victoria - a state which had not previously had a militia (The last two states to gain militia forces were New South Wales - 1st of September - and Tasmania - 3rd of September). However, four days into his work as Major General, Allen encountered reports of a peculiar new threat in Victoria - the so-called 'Black Rose'. On the 31st of August, Major General Allen teamed up with fellow cavalry commander Major Felicity Gordon to investigate the reports. On the 3rd of September, an Emu ambush at Merrijig led Major General Allen to realise that Major Gordon was the Black Rose, and had been carving a bloody path in her search for the 'Tomb of Kawraak', hoping to find the mythical Emu site before any Emus could. On the 6th of September, Major Gordon betrayed Major General Allen and took him prisoner, not only confirming that she was the Black Rose, but also revealing that she was the illegitimate daughter of the late Field Marshal Rose, hellbent on revenge. Major General Allen was able to notify The Earl of Shepparton of his imprisonment, promopting the Earl to immediately set out by helicopter - however this helicopter was brought down over the Blue Mountains, the Earl of Shepparton being the only survivor. He too was captured by Major Gordon, on the 8th of September. On the 11th of September, a group of emus attacked Major Gordon's base, allowing Major General Allen and the Earl of Shepparton to escape into the tunnel network. After a four-day chase, Major Gordon apprehended the two, however the Earl of Shepparton was able to convince his new-found half-sister to stand down, and cease her insurgent ways.
Return of Commander Rhodes, Formation of the Shadows
Commander Rhodes, leader of the Exterminators, was thought to have died in the last stages of the Second Emu War. However, he, along with several other Exterminators, reappeared on the 21st of August. The unit was reformed as the Shadows, but unfortunately they were all killed when their boat sank during a tour of Sydney. ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓
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Recense Avem and the New Emu Republic
After the fall of General Redime, the Emus were scattered and leaderless. Many became insurgents, continuing the fight, but many more simply wandered the bush, often chased by vengeful humans. It was not until the rise of Recense Avem, an Emu committed to the principles of democracy and pacifism, that the Emus began to organise themselves. On the 4th of April 2018, Recense Avem began gathering support for a rejuvenated Emu state, and quickly became seen as the principal point of communication between the Australian Government and the Emus. On the 6th of April, Avem declared the foundation of the Emu Republic, with himself as the first President of the fledgling state. It was not long before an assassination was attempted, the perpetrator of which is still unknown, but Avem managed to survive, and quickly began organising talks with the Allied Powers to reach a formal peace treaty, and normalise relations between human and emu.
The Victorian Genocide
Major General Allen, the now well-established commander of the VVR, had never been supportive of peace with the Emus. Major General Allen, like many other Australians, was of the view that the Emus were inherently evil and irredeemable, seeing the only solution as the complete purging of all Emus in Australia. With this in mind, Major General Allen launched 'Order 1901' on the 9th of May, ordering the killing of all Emus in Victoria. Overnight, the Emu population was decimated - when the government in Canberra caught wind of Major General Allen's scheme, he was ordered to travel to Canberra, where he was then detained. Brigadier Gary Smith was then made interim commander, and ordered to cease the Order. The Earl of Shepparton issued the 331 Order necessary to temporarily federalise the VVR on the 15th of May, formally stripping Major General Allen of his command (his rank reverted to his rank in the Australian Army - Colonel) and imprisoning him, and placing Brigadier Smith as Major General.
The Liberation of Argentina
Colonel Allen was secretly released from custody on the 27th of May and placed in command of the Combined Army, carrying out Operation Cherie - the Liberation of Argentina. The Liberation began with the seizure of Río Grande on the 30th of May, where Colonel Allen (now operating as General Allen), was met by Admiral Carlos Maldonado, leader of the Free Argentine Forces. With Admiral Maldonado's help, the Combined Army reached the holdout city of Ushuaia on the 2nd of June. Cóndor was liberated on the 11th of June, marking the beginning of operations in mainland Argentina. Brigadier Ross Gallagher was dispatched to lead the Siege of Río Gallego. Brigadier Gallagher led his men into disaster on the 30th of June, losing 6,000 out of his 14,000 strong force. Meanwhile, on the same day, General Allen was victorious at the Battle of Estancia La Carlota, allowing him to join up with the remnants of Brigadier Gallagher's force (Brigadier Gallagher was promptly executed) and capture Río Gallego himself.
After this, General Allen ceased communication with the Australian Government until the 16th of February 2019, when he sent news of the completion of Operation Cherie.
References
Sources
External links
- [2] at reddit.com
Category:Emus
Category:Australia
Category:Wars
Category:Wars in Australia
Category:Battles in Australia
Category:Australian Wildlife
Template:Good article is only for Wikipedia:Good articles.
| The 2nd Emu War | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the The Emu Wars | |||||
| |||||
| Belligerents | |||||
|
Commonwealth of Australia
United Kingdom
Indonesia
United States of America
New Zealand
African Union
Sweden(Materiel Support) |
Emus Cassowaries Rheas | ||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||
|
General Max
Marcellus Glabella, 1st Earl of Walhalla
Matthew Nottingham
Nathan Seacole, 1st Earl of Geraldton
Anton Horsten
Thomas Edward Rose, 1st Earl of Shepparton |
Eustace Redime Cecil Bolisario Beak Diomedes Kaaww Septimus Skreech | ||||
| Strength | |||||
| A lot | Unknown | ||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||
| 1.08 million | Unknown | ||||
The 2nd Emu War was an armed conflict between the Commonwealth of Australia (and their allies) and the Emus (and their allies) which took place between December 2016 and April 2017, leaving 1.08 million humans dead and countless emus.
Background
The Emus of Australia and the Humans of Australia had fought a long and bloody war from 1932 to 1989, ending in millions of deaths and the retreat of emu-kind into the outback. Hatred brewed between the two races, with neither attempting rapprochment.
Two major conflicts occured in between the 1st and 2nd Emu Wars. These were the East Victoria Campaign and the Broken Hill Incident these led to further tensions between the Australians and the Emus.
Outbreak of War
Tension spilled into armed conflict on the 11th of December 2016, when Emu forces under General Eustace Redime attacked the Northern Territory town of Alice Springs, causing much destruction and provoking an immediate reaction from the Australian Army and British Expeditionary Force (BEF) in Australia, both of which immediately mobilised and prepared to counter-attack. One group of refugees, led by historian and retired soldier Matthew Nottingham escaped to the town of Tennant Creek, many miles to the North, only to come under attack by a division of emus split off from the main force. By the end of the day, Australian forces under Major General Marcellus Glabella had liberated Alice Springs, while a unit of the Royal Lancers, attached to the BEF, liberated Tennant Creek.
Meanwhile, in Queensland, the Cassowaries under Cecil Bolisario Beak marched on Rockhampton.
First Stages of the War, December 2016
The BEF began to muster at Katherine, while the Australian Army mobilised. A state of emergency was declared on the morning on the 12th December.
The Race to Darwin
The BEF at Katherine numbered twenty-thousand when, in the early afternoon, an emu surprise attack by elements of the Emu forces heading for Darwin wiped out most of the existing BEF command structure. The following Battle of Katherine was a massacre, seeing 13,000 BEF casualties, and leading the 7,000 survivors to hurry to Darwin in retreat.
Hearing of the news, the Australian Army dispatched Major General Glabella and his division - the nearest in the field - to reinforce Darwin. A race between Emu and Human forces ensued, as the British and Australians hurried to reach Darwin before it was overrun by Emu forces. The BEF reached Darwin on the morning of the 13th December, followed by the Australians at noon. The siege began almost immediately, as the Emus arrived within hours of the Australians.
The British Government resolved to deploy its reserve force of 40,000 men under General WG Grace, setting into motion Operation Cochrane - the advanced new method of deploying large forces over long distances at very short notice.
The Siege of Darwin
The Emus immediately began a land blockade around Darwin, but were unable to prevent supplies coming in by boat, preventing any hopes of victory through attrition. Instead, the Emu forces began heavy shelling of the city, accompanied by repeated attacks on its defences. Colonel Rose, a hero of the First Emu War and East Victoria Campaign began co-ordinating the British forces in Darwin, sending reports to the new BEF commander General Grace, and working with the Australian commander in Darwin, Major General Glabella.
While Emu forces in Northern Territory gathered around Darwin, the refugee Historian Matthew Nottingham began organising the Northern Territory Resistance, a guerilla force that quickly began disrupting Emu operations in NT.
BEF reinforcements arrived in Darwin on the 15th December, with Colonel Rose being placed in charge of the 4th Cavalry Division and promoted to Major General. Joint planning with the Australian Army facilitated the Battle of Darwin on the 17th, at which the Emu besiegers were routed with heavy casualties.
The Fall of Perth and Geraldton
While the Human forces focussed on Darwin, a devastating emu attack - the success of which has still not been fully explained - captured Perth on the 13th December, beginning what would be one of the longest occupations in the Second Emu War. An attack the next day sacked the nearby town of Geraldton, forcing the flight of Nathan Seacole and other residents (aided by Sergeant Matthew Ickles), who formed the Geraldton Volunteers on the 18th December, and marched North to Darwin.
After the relief of Darwin, Major General Glabella was ordered to lead his forces to Adelaide, where troops were mustering for the liberation of Perth, however he was ambushed by Emu forces en route on the 19th, and held in captivity. In response, the BEF marched to liberate Glabella, doing so on the 20th. For their services, many of the British commanders, including Rose, were knighted.
The BEF then marched to besiege Perth, while the Australians moved to gather their forces to defend Northern Territory, Western Australia and Queensland.
Early Naval Operations
Suspicion of Emu naval capabilities triggered an immediate deployment of the Royal Australian Navy in the Timor Sea, the Arafura Sea, the Coral Sea and the Gulf of Carpentaria, followed by an additional deployment in the Indian Ocean - the entirety of Fleet West, stationed in Perth, was deployed mere hours before the Emu occupation. Indonesia's role in the war began with its participation in the early Anti-Emu Naval Patrol on the 14th December.
Christmas Truce 20th-22nd December
An early truce attempt was announced on the 20th December, with both sides hoping for time to recuperate. However the Northern Territory Resistance controversially defied the truce, while the Cassowaries denied that it affected them. This led both sides to believe the truce was a ruse, leading to its quick disintegration.
Early Action in Queensland
Emu Attacks on Rockhampton and Port Douglas were repulsed on the 12th and 13th of December respectively. An abortive attack on Port Douglas was launched again on the 15th of December. The forces of Bolivario Beak seemed undeterred, quickly establishing dominance of the rest of Cape York Peninsula. Seeking to combine with sympathetic New Guinea Cassowaries, Beak ordered the beginning of the Torrest Strait Campaign on the 19th December, launching a series of attacks on the Torres Strait Islands, beginning a long and largely stalemated theatre of the war.
Beak's great breakthrough came on the 26th December when he led an all-out attack on the Army of Queensland under Lieutenant General Gill Gilliam, shattering Gilliam's forces, and allowing for the capture ofTownsville on the 28th of December, and Mackay, Port Douglas and Cairns on the 29th December. Gilliam and his forces fought a fighting retreat to Brisbane, where they prepared for further attacks. Rockhampton fell to Emu forces on the 30th December, Sunshine Coast the 31st.
The War in Western Australia
By Christmas Day, no one could doubt that the Truce was over. Emu forces marched into Broome amid the Christmas festivities, confirming their control of almost all of Western Australia. This flagrant disregard for the Truce which was still officially in force prompted the Australian government to allow the formation of Special Squadron 1 "The Exterminators" under a man known only as "Rhodes". The BEF, meanwhile, began the First Siege of Perth.
The effective Emu defeat in the Northern Territory was consolidated by the Battle on Boxing Day (or 2nd Battle of Katherine), where a combination of remnant Western Australian forces numbering 7,000 defeated a 20,000-strong Emu force. The victorious Australian army then marched to Hall's Creek, where they established a foothold for the liberation of Western Australia on the 28th December. The First Siege of Perth was not going well - Emu forces were constantly harassing the besiegers, while relief forces from elsewhere in Western Australia bore down upon the BEF. On the 27th December, only a day after the siege began, General WG Grace committed suicide. Lieutenant General Sir Oliver Martin took over as General Officer Commanding.
After the Battle on Boxing Day, the Army of Western Australia was formed, with Glabella (promoted to Lieutenant General) in command. The first operation of this force was to aid General Martin's full withdrawal from the First Siege of Perth on the 28th December.
The 29th December saw the first success of the new Army of Western Australia, now incorporating the remnant forces that had fought on Boxing Day, with the Liberation of Broome on the 29th December. The BEF and Army of Western Australia then liberated Derby the next day, before repelling a large counter-attack in the Battle of Derby on the 30th December. The Kimberley Region was deemed secure on the 31st December.
The Sack of Canberra
On the 28th December, a surprise Emu attack sacked the Federal Capital of Canberra, with the Government only narrowly escaping. Most of the city was burnt to the ground, while many key documents were stolen, and the Chief of Army, General Max, was killed defending the Parliament Building.
The War Spreads, Early 2017
On the 1st January 2017, Lieutenant General Marcellus Glabella was promoted to the rank of General and appointed Chief of Army. He immediately set about reorganising the Australian defences, and seeing to the promotion of figures such as Matthew Nottingham - made a Colonel in the Army of Western Australia, and Nathan Seacole, made a Major in the same. He coordinated the defence of Brisbane with Lt General Gilliam, with whom he had an excellent working relationship, sending reinforcements from the Army of New South Wales.
The Liberation of the Western Australian Coast
The BEF marched to Onslow and Port Hedland on the 1st January, liberating the two towns with the help of the newly arrived Indonesian Army. The two forces combined as the Combined Anglo-Indonesian Allied Army (colloquially known as Kaia), under the command of General Officer Commanding-in-Chief (GOC-in-C) General Sir Oliver Martin. The BEF reorganised into two Corps under the CAIAA, the first under Martin's personal command, the second under Rose, promoted to Lieutenant General.
Meanwhile, the Army of Western Australia, under the personal command of General Glabella, liberated Exmouth.
The 3rd January saw further successes on the Western coast, as the Geraldton Reserve - operating under the Army of Western Australia - liberatedGeraldton, and the CAIAA liberated the towns of Northam and Moora. The CAIAA began Operation Potato Sack - the encirclement of Perth - with the Liberation of Fremantle and Bunbury on the 5th January. Augusta was liberated on 6th January, completing the encirclement of Perth and starting the 2nd Siege. However, any hopes of an imminent victory had been dashed as soon as they appeared on 3rd January when the Emus began their attacks in Tasmania, prompting General Glabella to begin transfer most of the Army of Western Australia to Tasmania on the 5th January. General Glabella proceeded to take personal command of the Army of Tasmania. The Army of Western Australia was left more or less in abeyance as the war in the state calmed down, with the CAIAA holding the siege of Perth, and units such as the Kalgoorlie Light Infantry under Colonel Huckleberry Ordericus Bantham fought to liberate the WA outback.
The Battle of Brisbane, 2nd January 2017 and the Beginning of the Queensland Campaign
General Glabella flew to Brisbane immediately after the Liberation of Exmouth, joining Lt General Gilliam in the defence of the city. The Cassowary attacks were repulsed at great cost, allowing Gilliam to begin the Queensland Campaign in earnest, organising the Army of Queensland into a Northern Division (the troops fighting in the Torres Strait, who would landed on the Northern Cape York Peninsula on the 1st January, and the Southern Division, the troops which fought at Brisbane.
Southern Division quickly liberated the Sunshine Coast on 3rd January, while Northern Division liberated Nanum the same day. Rockhampton was liberated on the 6th January and Mackay on the 7th, while Northern DIvision became bogged down in the rainforest. The fighting in Queensland in the Cape York Peninsula was typical of jungle warfare - hard, bloody and slow.
The War in Tasmania
The Army of Tasmania, a single-division force at the start of the Tasmanian Theatre, was unable to hold most of the island against the forces of Emu commander High Master Diomedes Kaaww, with almost all but Hobart occupied. Colonel Nottingham, a native of Tasmania himself, was faked his own death on the 6th January, allowing him to join the Exterminators once again, and begin investigating the Emu superweapon 'The Stone Burner'.
The 5th and 6th January saw fighting in the Port Augusta, South Australia, as Emu forces attempted to delay the arrival of the 2nd Division, Army of Tasmania - the troops formerly of the Army of Western Australia, including Major Seacole and the Geraldton Reserve - in Tasmania. The 15,000-strong Division would eventually land at Hobart on the 7th January - 'E-Day'. These troops quickly saw great success, liberating Ross on 10th January. Following the liberation of East Tasmania, the forces of High Master Kaaww launched a strong counter-attack from his bases in the Pelion Mountains, trapping 2nd Division with 100,000 men at Reynold's Neck on the 14th of January. The ensuing Battle of Reynold's Neck proved to be one of the most stunning Human victories of the war, as the Geraldton Reserve under Major Seacole fought a successful last stand on Reynold's Island, massacring the bottlenecked Emu forces. Both Divisions of the Army of Tasmania then moved to retake the Pelion Mountains. Emu attacks in the Mornington Peninsula, Victoria, led General Glabella to believe an Emu attack there was imminent, so he took personal command of the Army of Victoria on 15th January, confident that the fighting in Tasmania would soon be over. However, the situation in Tasmania was complicated by the signing of the Emu-Magpie Compact on 17th January. Fears of Emu resurgence in Tasmania were quelled by the capture of High Master Kaaww the next day, for which Major Seacole was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel. Magpie air superiority in Tasmania would be broken in the Battle of Woolnorth on 25th January, marking the effective end of the War in Tasmania. Tasmania was deemed secure on the 29th January, and majority of the Army of Tasmania was transferred to Victoria.
The Second Siege of Perth, 6th January-1st February
With most of the Emu forces in Western Australia subdued, the Second Siege of Perth proved more sedate than the First. CAIAA began shelling the city on the 8th January, with the emus returning fire almost immediately. Severe damage was done to CAIAA by attacks on 14th January, but apart from this, little would occur until 20th January. On the 20th of January, an emu shelling attack struck a routine patrol of the 1st Battalion, Royal Lancers - Lt General Rose's own unit, whom he had opted to join on patrol that day. Rose and 38 men narrowly managed to escape, but were forced to flee North by Emu guerillas. Rose was thought dead by all.
Rose rode to Lake Disappointment and from there to Derby, which he reached on the 29th of January. He returned to CAIAA on the 3rd of February, by which time the Second Siege was over.
Nottingham Undercover
After his faked death on the 6th January, Nottingham, under the guise of 'The Thylacine', worked closely with the Exterminators, taking part in their series of hit-and-run nighttime raids on Emu forces causing great unease throughout the Emus, and creating the myth of The Thylacine, one of their most feared and hated adversaries. In this time Nottingham was also able to locate the Emu 'Stone Burner' their immensely powerful incendiary weapon, capable of burning entire cities to dust. Nottingham, with the help of the Northern Territory Resistance, captured the bomb in Santa Teresa, NT, and set it on a train aimed right for the heart of Perth - arranging with General Martin for it to be let through. The bomb detonated on the 1st February, destroying Perth and its Emu defenders.
The Victoria Campaign
After the initial Emu attacks in mid-January, the Emu assault on the Mornington Peninsula began in earnest on the 18th of January, overwhelming the peninsula on the 20th, and capturing General Glabella. The Army of Victoria fell back to Melbourne, where it prepared to defend the city. General Glabella was rescued on the 22nd of January by the Exterminators, allowing him to prepare the defences of Melbourne. The Siege began on the 28th, with major magpie bombing raids on the 29th. General Glabella proceeded to organise the 2nd Army of Victoria, to relieve the siege, and ordered the forces of the Army of Tasmania to liberate the Mornington Peninsula. The Army of Tasmania was successful in this endeavour, but Lieutenant Colonel Seacole was captured in the fighting, and sent to the emu camps at Santa Teresa - where, by a stroke of luck, he was freed by Colonel Nottingham.
General Glabella's new 2nd Army of Victoria encircled the besieging emu forces, creating a double encirclement of Melbourne. General Glabella promoted Colonel Nottingham to Lieutenant General, and appointed him Deputy Chief of Army, while Lieutenant Colonel Seacole was promoted to Major General, and placed in command of the Army of Tasmania. Together, the Army of Tasmania and 2nd Army of Victoria fought the Battle of Melbourne for five days, until, on the 5th of February, the Emu forces detonated a huge explosion, and, through a series of tunnels abandoned since the East Victoria Campaign, escaped the encirclement. General Glabella disappeared in the debacle, severely wounded amidst the rubble. He managed to escape into the Bush, where he was found by a civilian on the 8th of February, who nursed him until she was killed by Emus on the 10th. Lt General Nottingham was able to find him on the 12th.
The Battle of Perth, 5th-8th February
Following the detonation of the Stone Burner and the return of Lt General Rose, there was much rejoicing in CAIAA. However, as they celebrated, a surprise Emu attack decimated the 1st Corps BEF, killing General Martin. In response, Lt General Rose took over as GOC-in-C, and led over 80,000 CAIAA and armed civilian troops in fighting the emu forces. The Battle of Perth was on an unprecedented scale, with 80,000 Humans fighting roughly 250,000 Emus. The bloodbath lasted for three days, until Lt General Nottingham and Major General Seacole, with the Armies of South Australia, Tasmania and Victoria intervened on the 8th, ending the battle. The rejoicing that followed was not mitigated by any surprise attack.
The Fall of Sydney
The victory at Perth was followed within hours by news of the Fall of Sydney. General Eustace Redime had orchestrated the entire series of Battles in Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia specifically so he could marshal his forces in New South Wales unopposed. The Army of New South Wales was shattered on the 7th February, with Sydney falling to his forces the next day. Redime set up his new headquarters in Government House, and prepared his grand plan to end the war.
The Queensland Campaign Continues
Townsville, one of the first towns to fall to the Cassowaries, was liberated by Southern Division on the 10th of January, while Cairns was besieged on the 15th. Both Southern and Nothern Division became bogged down in the rainforest, as the Cassowaries began to defend their home turf. Cairns was finally liberated on the 20th, followed by Port Douglas on the 25th. The Cassowaries were now completely penned into their original territory.
This proved a major advantage for Beak and the Cassowaries, as they were able to launch a successful attack on Northern Division, pushing it back to Mapoon on the 1st of February. Meanwhile, Southern Division's attempt to push North to Cooktown was routed on the 5th, falling back to Cairns and Port Douglas, where Beak besieged them on 9th of February. Northern Division pushed back to Nanum on the 7th.
Sideshows
The Argentine Conflict
The Rheas of Argentina, inspired by the exploits of their emu brethren, overthrew the Argentine government on the 24th of January, establishing the state of Argenrheana. War quickly broke out with Chile and Bolivia, and would last until well after the end of the Second Emu War.
Rhea troops would be sent to Australia to aid the Emus in the final Battle of Sydney.
The War Comes to An End, March/April 2017
Operation Trident
In Perth, General Rose, Lt General Nottingham and Major General Seacole organised their forces into Alpha, Bravo and Charlie Columns. Alpha, under General Rose, consisting of CAIAA and various militia organisations, advanced through the Northern Territory to Queensland; Bravo, under Major General Seacole, consisting of the Army of Tasmania and 2nd Army of Victoria, marched through the centre of Australia; while Charlie, commanded by Lt General Nottingham and consisting of the Army of South Australia and 1st Army of Victoria, marched to Adelaide. The plan was to comprehensively destroy the remaining emu forces and to then converge for the liberation of Sydney.
The Army of the Blue Mountains
Glabella travelled to the Northern end of the Blue Mountains where he took command of the remnants of the Army of New South Wales, joining it up with remaining forces in Victoria and the ACT, to form the Army of the Blue Mountains. He stationed the Army in Canberra, where they defended the ruins of the city from Emu attack.
Operation Pitchfork
Redime caught wind of the Human plans almost immediately, and planned his counter-attack. Emu forces were divided into four 'prongs' Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Omega. Alpha was to defeat Alpha Column, Beta Bravo Column, Gamma the Army of the Blue Mountains and Omega Charlie Column.
Pitchfork and Trident set out on the 11th of February.
Snake's Tongue
Bravo Column was the first to meet Pitchfork. Major General Seacole, planning to join up with General Glabella and defeat Beta and Gamma prongs together, set a series of bushfires forcing the two prongs to meet. The combined force, formed on the 15th of February, was known as 'Snake's Tongue'.
However, General Glabella's forces were unable to reach the battle on time, and Snake's Tongue all but annihilated the 50,000-strong Bravo Column at the Battle of Durham, albeit at great cost. Snake's Tongue was reduced to 16,000, while the 3000 survivors of Bravo Column began a hard-fought guerilla campaign.
The Battle of Cairns, 17th of February
Alpha Column reached Cairns on the 17th February, where in cooperation with the Southern Division of the Army of Queensland, the Cassowaries were decisively defeated in the Battle of Cairns. Beak lay dead on the battlefield. Southern Division was able to march through the Peninsula, and the Army of Queensland joined Alpha Column.
The Battle of Toowoomba, 18th of February
Alpha Prong and Alpha Column met in the Battle of Toowoomba, where the 80,000 men of Alpha Column under General Rose soundly defeated the forces of Alpha Prong under High Chieftain Aurus Cawrium, who was killed in the fighting.
Charlie Column
Adelaide was evacuated on Lt General Nottingham's orders on the 15th February. Charlie Column met Omega Prong on the 17th of February, and was forced to retreat Adelaide. Overwhelmed, Lt General Nottingham fell back on Adelaide, ordering the raising of a conscript South Australia Militia under Major General MacCurtain. A fleet of the Royal Australian Navy under Rear Admiral Horsten rushed to Adelaide to prepare to evacuate Charlie Column, reaching the city on the 21st February. As the defences of Adelaide crumbled, the South Australia Militia was left behind in the confusion. Charlie Column was taken by the RAN to Flinder's Island.
The Defeat of Snake's Tongue and Omega Prong
Hearing of the defeat of Bravo and Charlie Columns, Generals Rose and Glabella agreed that Alpha Column would defeat Snake's Tongue, while the Army of the Blue Mountains, which had previously been en route to do so, would march to Adelaide to defeat Omega Prong.
General Rose defeated Snake's Tongue at a cost of 20,000 men on the 20th of February, while General Glabella defeated Omega Prong on the 27th.
The Melbourne Conference and the March on Sydney
For the first time in the war, all the major Armies stood in one place - Melbourne, on the 1st of March. A conference was held to determine the future course of the war, to discuss the course of Operation Trident and the aftermath of the war. It was agreed that a United Allied Army would be formed, commanded by General Rose, for the final assault on Sydney. It was further agreed that nothing less than an unconditional surrender would be accepted from the Emus. However, discussion of Operation Trident opened up serious grievances in allied command, as Major General MacCurtain accused Lt General Nottingham of abandoning Adelaide, while Lt General Nottingham suffered from bouts of paranoia, causing him to believe that General Rose and Major General MacCurtain were plotting with the Indonesians to overthrow Australia and kill him. General Glabella, meanwhile, succumbed to depression, while General Rose slipped into alcoholism.
Once the march began, however, the issues died down - Lt General Nottingham's paranoia dissipated, and a partial reconciliation with Major General MacCurtain was reached.
The quick respite at Melbourne also saw the appointment of Connor Allen, a staunch follower of Lt General Nottingham, as commander of Lt General Nottingham's cavalry, at the rank of Colonel.
The Liberation of Sydney, 7th of March - 17th of April
Allied command was established at Bathurst on the 7th of March, and the blockade of Sydney by the United Allied Army (UAA) and Royal Australian Navy was set in place. General Rose issued the plans for Operation Final Hour on the 11th of March, organising the United Allied Army into Army Group A under General Rose, attacking from the North; Army Group B under General Glabella, the North-West; Army Group C under Major General Seacole, the South-West and Army Group D under Lt General Nottingham, the South.
The plan was set in motion on the 14th March. Simultaneously, troops from the New Zealand Volunteer Rifles (NZVR), ferried over by the RAN, landed at Sydney Airport, taking it into allied hands. Major General Seacole's forces captured the Warragamba Dam on the first day of operations. By the 22nd of March, the UAA had established a ring surrounding central Sydney, however, on the 23rd, the NZVR was pushed back into the sea, with the death of Rear Admiral Horsten's son Lieutenant James Horsten.
The Royal Australian Navy then came into combat with the Rhea Navy, which had sailed from Argenrheana. The two fleets fought tooth and nail for the rest of the battle, ending only with the sinking of the HMAS Adelaide on the 16th of April, at which point both fleets retreated.
Army Group D met a large Emu force at Georges River on the 23rd March, and was only able to push on with the help of Army Group C. In the fighting, Lt General Nottingham disappeared in combat with an elite Emu unit known as 'Extinction Cadre', led by an Emu warrior known only as 'Typhon'. Major General Seacole took command of both Army Groups and marched on to Bankstown. General Glabella led Army Group B to Parramatta on the 22nd. On the 24th, General Glabella reached Rozelle, Major General Seacole reached Earlwood, and General Rose managed to cross the harbour, leaving a force on the Sydney Harbour Bridge to prevent a Northward Emu retreat. General Rose reached Sydney Airport on the 25th March. However, his forces became stuck their, suffering from heavy shelling on all sides - on the 9th of April, General Rose finally managed to break out from the Airport, pushing North to Sydney Park, where, realising he could not push through to Emu HQ, he prepared to fight to the last with his remaining 7000 men, in the Last Stand at Sydney Park. Army Group B crossed from Rozelle to Darling on the 7th of April, but its advance was halted in the Rocks. At the same time, an Emu attempt to overwhelm to the defenders of Sydney Harbour Bridge is defeated when the Bridge is brought down in a huge explosion. The arrival of Army Groups C and D, coupled with the diversion caused by Army Group A's last stand, allowed General Glabella to lead his forces into Government House on the 17th April. General Rose was shot dead by the last Emu forces the same day, while Lt General Nottingham and Typhon both died in a duel.
The war was over.
Aftermath
Victory did not unite the country. The destruction wrought by the conflict, coupled with the malign work of General Redime, brought discord and chaos to Australia, as a depleted and weakened government struggled to re-establish its hold. With the police practically destroyed, it fell to the Army and the newly-created state militias to maintain order. Rioting became commonplace as the struggling population turned desperate - groups such as the Antipodean Resistance and the Southern Iron Cross gathered members, while others such as Red Australia and the Marxist-Leninist Australian Workers' Party also gained ground. The deadliest riot was the Adelaide Massacre on the 29th of April, where 304 rioters from the Southern Iron Cross were killed, along with 433 South Australian Militia. This particular riot was spurred largely by the official ennobling of General Glabella as Earl of Walhalla and Major General Seacole as Earl of Geraldton in London the same day. General Glabella had become a controversial figure in the months immediately after the war, due to the speech he gave on the 21st April calling for reconciliation.
The Rosites
Government attempts at restoration remained impotent and half-hearted, with the first major sign of success being the partial return to what remained of Canberra on the 30th April. In these first months, the young Edgar, the Earl of Shepparton - the son of Field Marshal Rose, and recently appointed High Commissioner to Australia - and a group of young government officials began working to oppose the Prime Minister, in the absence of Parliament (which had been dissolved since the Sack of Canberra). This group received support from commanders of state militias as well as many politicians, and was soon known as the 'Rosites'. These Rosites also began organising grassroots restoration and aid projects, distributing food, water and medical supplies, and supporting the work of the state militias in maintaining order. At a meeting in rural Western Australia (in the house of Colonel Andrew Cornfield of the WADF) on the 25th May, the Rosites formally established themselves as the Restoration Party, and began campaigning against the Prime Minister in earnest.
The Restoration Party's Rise to Power
The Cornfield House Meeting chose Harry Gronville as the new leader, a young, charismatic politician and recently demobilised Lieutenant in the Yarralumla Regiment. He led a party with immense influence from the outset - all of the existing state militias were willing to listen to the party, while many mayors, along with the Premier of South Australia, Steve North, defected to the party. The organisation of the party's Clandestine Operations Department (COD), under the control of the Earl of Shepparton, facilitated the effective use of this influence. For example, the diffusal of the 30th May Uprising in Brisbane by the Queensland Militia (QLDM) and Northern Territory Reserve (NTR) was organised by the Earl of Shepparton through the COD. This particular incident was a huge embarassment for the PM, who had previously called for the disbandment of all state militias. Facing mounting pressure from all sides, the Prime Minister called an election on the 1st of June. Meanwhile, the Earl of Shepparton again used the COD to order Colonel Connor Allen organise the beginnings of merger talks between the NTR and the Northern Territory Self-Defence Force (NTSDF) - the successor to the Northern Territory Resistance, now led by Julie Davey, an old comrade of Lt General Nottingham - on the 2nd of June. The Earl of Shepparton, reminded by the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office of his need to remain neutral, amicably departed British service on the 4th of June.
The election, held under special conditions on the 16th of June, saw a landslide victory for the Restoration Party, with 117 seats in the House of Representatives and 52 seats in the Senate. Harry Gronville became Prime Minister, while the Earl of Shepparton became Minister for Defence, Security and Foreign Affairs. The new government immediately began work on a sweeping series of restoration projects, all across the country, managed largely under the auspices of the new Economic Restoration Agency (ERA). These projects included the rebuilding of Canberra along an almost completely new plan, intended to remedy many of the faults existing in the city.
The Darwin Insurgency, 10th-21st of June, 2017
In the middle of the already struggling NTR-NTSDF negotiations, a rural Arnhem Land NTR outpost 'went dark' on the 10th June, ceasing all communications with Darwin. The next day, Emu remnant forces began attacking Darwin itself. On the 13th of June, the NTSDF Headquarters in Daly Waters also came under attack. The situation was dire - the two forces were spread thinly across the territory, while the Australian Army's presence in NT had been low since December 2016. On multiple occassions it seemed that the emus would capture both cities. The situation was worsened by the flight of the NTR's commander, Major General Russon on the 17th of June. Major General Russon hijacked a civilian evacuation ship along with a small cadre of loyal NTR soldiers, and fled to Bathurst Island, where he hid in the tropical forest. The Insurgency was eventually defeated by General Glabella himself, defeating the Emus at the Battle of Birdum in the 21st of June. For his role in the conflict, Colonel Connor Allen was made a knight of the Order of Australia.
The NTR-NTSDF Merger
Prior to the Insurgency, talks were already going badly. Neither Major General Russon nor Major General Davey were willing to compromise, while Major General Russon made his racist opinions towards the aborigines - who made up a significant proportion of the NTSDF, including Major General Davey - perfectly clear. The situation was worsened on the 8th of June, when a sergeant in the NTR was fatally stabbed by an NTSDF trooper. The onset of the Darwin Insurgency caused an improvement in relations between the two forces, while the flight of Major General Russon served to remove him as an obstacle to the merger. Talks continued until Major General Russon's arrest by a joint NTR-NTSDF team on the 20th August. He was trialled, found guily and sentenced to life in prison on the 22nd of August. The NTR was integrated into the NTSDF on the 23rd of August.
The Gordon Affair
Colonel Allen, erstwhile comrade of Lt General Nottingham, had, on the Earl of Shepparton's orders, created the Victoria Volunteer Rifles (VVR) on the 24th August. The VVR was an immediate success, helping finalise the stabilisation of rural Victoria - a state which had not previously had a militia (The last two states to gain militia forces were New South Wales - 1st of September - and Tasmania - 3rd of September). However, four days into his work as Major General, Allen encountered reports of a peculiar new threat in Victoria - the so-called 'Black Rose'. On the 31st of August, Major General Allen teamed up with fellow cavalry commander Major Felicity Gordon to investigate the reports. On the 3rd of September, an Emu ambush at Merrijig led Major General Allen to realise that Major Gordon was the Black Rose, and had been carving a bloody path in her search for the 'Tomb of Kawraak', hoping to find the mythical Emu site before any Emus could. On the 6th of September, Major Gordon betrayed Major General Allen and took him prisoner, not only confirming that she was the Black Rose, but also revealing that she was the illegitimate daughter of the late Field Marshal Rose, hellbent on revenge. Major General Allen was able to notify The Earl of Shepparton of his imprisonment, promopting the Earl to immediately set out by helicopter - however this helicopter was brought down over the Blue Mountains, the Earl of Shepparton being the only survivor. He too was captured by Major Gordon, on the 8th of September. On the 11th of September, a group of emus attacked Major Gordon's base, allowing Major General Allen and the Earl of Shepparton to escape into the tunnel network. After a four-day chase, Major Gordon apprehended the two, however the Earl of Shepparton was able to convince his new-found half-sister to stand down, and cease her insurgent ways.
Return of Commander Rhodes, Formation of the Shadows
Commander Rhodes, leader of the Exterminators, was thought to have died in the last stages of the Second Emu War. However, he, along with several other Exterminators, reappeared on the 21st of August. The unit was reformed as the Shadows, but unfortunately they were all killed when their boat sank during a tour of Sydney. ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓
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Recense Avem and the New Emu Republic
After the fall of General Redime, the Emus were scattered and leaderless. Many became insurgents, continuing the fight, but many more simply wandered the bush, often chased by vengeful humans. It was not until the rise of Recense Avem, an Emu committed to the principles of democracy and pacifism, that the Emus began to organise themselves. On the 4th of April 2018, Recense Avem began gathering support for a rejuvenated Emu state, and quickly became seen as the principal point of communication between the Australian Government and the Emus. On the 6th of April, Avem declared the foundation of the Emu Republic, with himself as the first President of the fledgling state. It was not long before an assassination was attempted, the perpetrator of which is still unknown, but Avem managed to survive, and quickly began organising talks with the Allied Powers to reach a formal peace treaty, and normalise relations between human and emu.
The Victorian Genocide
Major General Allen, the now well-established commander of the VVR, had never been supportive of peace with the Emus. Major General Allen, like many other Australians, was of the view that the Emus were inherently evil and irredeemable, seeing the only solution as the complete purging of all Emus in Australia. With this in mind, Major General Allen launched 'Order 1901' on the 9th of May, ordering the killing of all Emus in Victoria. Overnight, the Emu population was decimated - when the government in Canberra caught wind of Major General Allen's scheme, he was ordered to travel to Canberra, where he was then detained. Brigadier Gary Smith was then made interim commander, and ordered to cease the Order. The Earl of Shepparton issued the 331 Order necessary to temporarily federalise the VVR on the 15th of May, formally stripping Major General Allen of his command (his rank reverted to his rank in the Australian Army - Colonel) and imprisoning him, and placing Brigadier Smith as Major General.
The Liberation of Argentina
Colonel Allen was secretly released from custody on the 27th of May and placed in command of the Combined Army, carrying out Operation Cherie - the Liberation of Argentina. The Liberation began with the seizure of Río Grande on the 30th of May, where Colonel Allen (now operating as General Allen), was met by Admiral Carlos Maldonado, leader of the Free Argentine Forces. With Admiral Maldonado's help, the Combined Army reached the holdout city of Ushuaia on the 2nd of June. Cóndor was liberated on the 11th of June, marking the beginning of operations in mainland Argentina. Brigadier Ross Gallagher was dispatched to lead the Siege of Río Gallego. Brigadier Gallagher led his men into disaster on the 30th of June, losing 6,000 out of his 14,000 strong force. Meanwhile, on the same day, General Allen was victorious at the Battle of Estancia La Carlota, allowing him to join up with the remnants of Brigadier Gallagher's force (Brigadier Gallagher was promptly executed) and capture Río Gallego himself.
After this, General Allen ceased communication with the Australian Government until the 16th of February 2019, when he sent news of the completion of Operation Cherie.
References
Sources
External links
- [2] at reddit.com
Category:Emus
Category:Australia
Category:Wars
Category:Wars in Australia
Category:Battles in Australia
Category:Australian Wildlife