Early in the strike, the legality of using troops was investigated, and planning immediately formulated for Operation Excavate during the first week in July. On 14 July the Government was said to be on the point of enlisting the support of the anti-communist Australian Workers' Union to break the strike, with an agreement of the Australian Railways Union (likewise anti-communist) to transport the coal. It appears that such negotiations amounted to a bluff and a political ploy to distract attention from the military operations being planned. With 1949 being an election year, Chifley wanted to demonstrate his Government's anti-communist resolve, but the tactics proved insufficient, and the Menzies Government was elected in December 1949.