People were being hit with rolled up newspapers, flour bombs, sponge rubber pipes and water pistols; there were bodies lying everywhere, and agonised screams echoed among the buildings at Otago University. It was far from pretty. Actually, it was comical.
The battle on the University of Otago Union lawn was part of the Alf's Imperial Army 40th anniversary celebrations.
The army was founded in 1972 by Ian Brackenbury Channell (who later became the Wizard of New Zealand), while he was studying at Melbourne University. It was established to reduce the hatred and violence being introduced on the campus by the various left-wing activists of the time.
The catalyst in 1972 was the university's Pacifist Society voting to give student money to the Viet Cong during the Vietnam War.
When the Wizard moved to New Zealand soon after, the army followed, and regiments were established in towns and cities around the country.
It is now arguably New Zealand's longest-running and largest pacifist warfare organisation.
The army stands for all that is British and silly, and tries to safeguard proper Victorian standards of propriety and cumbersomeness in dress, architecture, technologies, and entertainments, using strictly non-harmful weapons.
Since its establishment, it has battled many groups, including political parties, the police, student clubs and hostels, the Outward Bound organisation, community organisations, Sea Cadets, schools, TV stations and even nudists.
Saturday's battle was very one-sided - more than 100 members of Alf's Imperial Army versus seven members of Kaos. The ''dictatoress'' of Kaos, Colleen Bayliss, described it as a ''glorious last stand'', before one of her soldiers complained there were no half-time oranges.
Despite the imbalance, the Wizard said it was the ''bloodless-est'' war he had seen in the organisation's history.
''There's been no flour in the eyes yet, or grazed knees.
''We love war. We just don't like anyone getting hurt.''
