Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Pre-War Life:

Herbert Sigfrid Cassebohm was born on 30/12/1883, to father, Henrick Cassebohm and to mother, Clara Anna Cassebohm. Herbert was one of 5 children, who were all boys[1]. Herbert grew up in a natural born British home, where he believed in the Roman Catholic faith. Later, Herbert became a Cooper, which was a labourer in charge of making barrels and other wooden utensils such as, butter churners and buckets. He spent five years as an apprentice at Burbidge and Son, Mile End, a kitchen appliance shop known for their wooden draws and bench-tops. There he trained as a cooper and after the five-year period, Herbert became an independent cooper. During his early life he had one run in with the law, as he had committed Larceny (theft). He was convicted at 108 Osmond Terrace, Norwood and had to spend one month in prison[2]. In 1913 Herbert married Myrtle Lander. They lived together at 5 Edsall Street, Norwood, where they had four children[3].

On 29/3/17 Herbert Cassebohm enlisted in the AIF at the age of 33, with no prior military experience.

Journey to the Western Front:

After enlisting into the AIF Herbert was taken to Seymour Machine Gun Depot, where he received the rank of private. He trained at Seymour from the 7th/6/17 to the 5th/9/17 in preparation for his role in the 5th Machine Gun Battalion[4]. Herbert was then transferred to Langwarrin Barracks, on the 8th/9/17 to the 9th/11/17. The Langwarrin Barracks were used as an imprisonment camp for Germans, Turks and Austrians living in Australia. When the imprisonment camp was officially closed some people were transferred to different camps while others stayed and worked at the Venereal Hospital nearby[5].

After training and getting medical check-ups at the Langwarrin Barracks, Herbert was sent to Melbourne where he embarked on the SS INDARRA. He left Melbourne on the 26th/11/17 and arrived in Suez, Egypt on the 27th/12/17. Herbert spent the next month training in Suez. The training routine in Egypt was very vigorous with Australian troops re-enacting battle, practising their advances and retreats[6]. They did this for eight hours each day, six days a week. He then moved north up Egypt to Port Said where he re-embarked the SS INDARRA for Taranto, Italy. On the 20th/1/18 the SS INDARRA arrived in Taranto and Hebert began his military training in Italy. Herbert and his battalion trained in Taranto until the 24th/1/18.

After re-embarking the SS INDARRA Herbert and his fellow battalion were transported to Southampton, England on the 2nd/2/18. Herbert was then placed at Codford training camp in the 15th Training Battalion but was later transferred to the 32nd Training Battalion. In Codford, Herbert went AWOL from midnight 9th/4/18 till 9 pm on the 10th/4/18. He went AWOL for unidentified reasons and for this he was forced to forfeit two day's pay. Herbert trained at Codford until the 23rd/4/18 where he was transferred to Grantham[7], where he was trained to use the British Vickers machine gun and here is where Herbert was placed into the 5th Machine Gun Battalion. After his training, Herbert joined the Machine Gun Corps known as the Suicide Club, for their high casualty and wounded rate[8]. Herbert left Grantham for France and the Western Front. Herbert and his battalion stopped off at Folkestone on the 11th/6/18 and then finally arrived in France on the 22nd/6/18.  On the Australian forces welcome parade to France, Herbert went AWOL and had to give up fourteen day's pay for drunkenness and leaving the welcome parade[9].

Role/Time on the Western Front:

After being welcomed to the Western Front, Herbert was put into the thick of the battle. Herbert was a part of the 5th Machine Gun Battalion, who were under the command of the 5th Division. The role of a Machine Gun Battalion was a supportive role and was used for suppressive fire. The major tactic used for machine guns called “enfilade fire” where machine guns fire down choke points that the enemy are forced to go down. The Australian forces used the British machine gun, the Vickers machine gun. The Vickers machine gun needed to be operated with a six to eight-man team. One soldier would fire the machine gun, one would feed bullets into the gun and the rest of the soldiers would be carrying ammunition to the gun[10].

Herbert fought in two majors periods (the Spring Offensive and the Battle of Amiens) In the Spring Offensive, Herbert and his battalion protected the trenches with the British troops at the River Somme, from the German attack code-named Michael. After many successful repels the American troops reached the Western Front and the German troops retreated back to their trenches[11]. In the Hundred Days Offensive, all five Australian Divisions took part in the battle of Amiens. The battle consisted of three phases, the Australian forces had three objectives to overtake. At 7 am the Australians took their 1st objective and by 10:30 am they took their second objective, but the German lines were already broken through, so the Australian had no resistance capturing their third objective and the German artillery.

The second phase the 4th and 5th division which included Herbert’s Machine Gun Battalion, which attacked the German lines while they were preoccupied with the Allied tanks. Herbert role in his phase was to lay cover fire while the 5th and 4th Division advanced to the trenches. The third and final phase the Australian divisions split up and took different points of interest[12]. This battle is recognised as Australians finest moment in the war.

While fighting Herbert in the hundred days offensive Herbert went AWOL from the 15th/10/18 to the 16th/10/18. He was forced to give up two days-worth pay because of absence from the war[13].

Journey Back to Australia:

After the end of the war, Herbert was admitted to the 39th General Hospital. The 39th General Hospital was a cleaning station located in Marseille, France. Herbert stayed at the 39th General Hospital from the 7th/5/19 to the 13th/5/19. On the 13th/5/19 Herbert was transferred from the 39th General to Bulford, Australian Dermatological Hospital. Herbert spent eleven days resting in hospital. After resting, he left England for Australia. On the 22nd/7/18 he left England on the HT "Ulysses". The ship stopped off at Cape Town, South Africa. On the 11th/8/19 Herbert failed to re-embark HT "Ulysses", the ship sailed off and he was named illegally AWOL. On the 12th/8/19 Herbert reported himself to the AIF and he was placed in close arrest. For his crimes, he was placed under detention for 168 hours and gave up 28 day's pay. Herbert embarked from Cape Town on the HT "Valencia" in detention. They then docked in Durban on the 19th/8/19 and Herbert failed to re-embark onto the HT "Valencia". For not returning to the HT "Valencia", Herbert was sent to the AIF office where he was forced to forfeit 28 day's pay for disobeying a direct order. He embarked on the HT "Bakara", on the 25th/8/19. Herbert landed in Adelaide, Australia on the 28th/9/19 and then on the 29th/10/19 Herbert Cassebohm was discharged from his AIF service and his enlistment period was cancelled[14].

Life after WW1:

After being discharged from the AIF, Herbert returned home to his wife and four children. After the war, Herbert was honoured with two medals, for his service[15]. The British War medal, which was given to all British soldiers in the war[16], and the Victory medal, given to all allied troops[17].  Herbert lived the rest of his life as a Cooper but also as a war veteran. Sadly on the 19th/1/1934 Herbert Cassebohm died while in a coma at the age of forty-nine[19].

Anzac Spirit:

Anzac spirit signifies the qualities exemplified by all Anzacs. Herbert Cassebohm exhibited many Anzac qualities, such as endurance, courage and a healthy disrespect for authority. Herbert exhibited endurance, as he didn’t leave the war/army when it got tough (low morale), but he battled on and stuck with the army, from his training to the end of the war in 1918. He exhibited overall courage, not just a single heroic moment defining himself. He exhibited this by fighting in a war with no military experience, fighting at the most dangerous place on the Earth at that time (The Western front), with a soldier’s life expectancy being six weeks[20]. He showed courage as he risked his own life for someone else’s war, which Australia was dragged into. He finally demonstrated a healthy disrespect for authority, as at multiple times he went AWOL for drinking and leaving the battlefield without permission of a higher-ranking officer. This quality is the larrikin nature of Anzacs.

[1] www.genealogysa.org.au

[2] https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/DetailsReports/ItemDetail.aspx

[3] www.genealogysa.org.au

[4] http://recordsearch.naa.gov.au

[5] http://www.migrationheritage.nsw.gov.au/exhibition/enemyathome/langwarrin-internment-camp/index.html

[6] http://anzaccentenary.sa.gov.au/story/great-war-training-camps-in-egypt/ 

[7] http://recordsearch.naa.gov.au

[8] http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01rj84n

[9]  http://recordsearch.naa.gov.au   

[10] https://rslvirtualwarmemorial.org.au/explore/units/375

[11] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spring_Offensive 

[12] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hundred_Days_Offensive#The_Battle_of_Amiens

[13] http://recordsearch.naa.gov.au

[14] http://recordsearch.naa.gov.au 

[15] http://recordsearch.naa.gov.au

[16]  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_War_Medal

[17] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victory_Medal_(United_Kingdom)#Eligibility

[18] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1914_Star

[19] https://www.genealogysa.org.au/index.php?option=com_search&Itemid=32

 
[20] https://www.warhistoryonline.com/articles/40-plus-1-fascinating-facts-about-wwi.html