History - Military Medal Recipients - Caleb Shang
We return to Australia for today’s post, to celebrate their most highly decorated Chinese-Australian soldier who fought in World War 1.
Caleb Shang (Herald Sun)
Caleb James Shang was born in Brisbane, Queensland on the 4th of August 1884 to Lee Wah Shang, who had been born in China, and his wife, Jane. Caleb was the eldest of the couple’s 13 children.
When he was 12, Caleb left school and began his working life. He was working as a clerk when World War 1 began.
After his younger brother, Sidney, had enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force in January 1916, Caleb enlisted on the 5th of June 1916.
In September 1916, he embarked for England on the troopship ‘Seang Choon’.
On the 7th of March 1917, Caleb joined the 47th Battalion, an infantry battalion of the Australian Army. Raised in 1916 for service during the war, the battalion took part in the fighting on the Western Front.
The Battalion formed part of the 12th Brigade, an infantry brigade which was part of the all-volunteer First Australian Imperial Force (AIF) raised for overseas service during World War 1.
And the 12th Brigade was attached to the 4th Division, formed during the expansion of the AIF infantry brigades in February 1916.
Caleb saw action at some of the major battles, including the Battle of Messines (7-14 June 1917) where he regularly scouted into enemy territory, a duty he volunteered for.
When he observed the Germans preparing to counterattack the battalion’s positions, he managed to signal to the rear for artillery support, all the while exposed to the enemy.
He acted as a ‘runner’, delivering messages under heavy fire, carried water and ammunition to the front line, successfully attacked enemy snipers in daylight, and taught himself to use signal lamps, operating one night and day despite being exposed to enemy fire.
According to the historian, Craig Deayton, ‘the runner’s job was one of the most perilous in the trench warfare of the Western Front and had an alarming casualty rate’.
On the 18th of June, Lieutenant Colonel A.P. Imlay, the commanding officer of the 47th Battalion, recommended Caleb for the Distinguished Conduct Medal for his fearless actions and initiative.
Caleb received the DCM on the 6th of July 1917.
Distinguished Conduct Medal King George V (version 1) (Wikipedia)
The Germans launched their Spring Offensive, also known as the Ludendorff Offensive (named after General Erich Ludendorff, the Chief Quartermaster General at supreme army headquarters), on the 21st of March 1918.
The plan, which involved over 1 million soldiers in 3 German armies, was for an offensive push to the west.
The first attack was directed at Amiens with the intention to split the British and French armies and advance to the coast.
If Amiens fell to the Germans, this would be a major loss for the Allies because of the strategic importance of the city and its railhead.
German troops attacked a gap in the Allied defence near Villers-Bretonneux on the 4th of April during the First Battle of Villers-Bretonneux (30 March-5 April 1918).
The town of Villers-Bretonneux is located on high ground south of the Somme River, just over 9miles (16km) from Amiens.
The Germans were almost at the town, a mere 440 yards away, when a surprise late afternoon counterattack by a combination of Australian and British units pushed the Germans back, successfully stopping their advance to Amiens.
On the 5th of April, the Germans attacked the Australian forces defending the railway line between Albert and Dernancourt, part of the Allies’ defence of Amiens.
During the Second Battle of Dernancourt, facing the “heaviest attack ever faced by Australians in this or any war” (‘Battle Scarred: The 47th Battalion in the First World War’ by Craig Deayton), the 12th and 13th Brigades suffered 1,230 casualties and lost some support trenches to the German troops.
But a counterattack by the Australians seized the initiative from the Germans causing their attack to fail, which meant the Australians remained in possession of the high ground northwest of Dernancourt.
Again, Caleb had shown remarkable courage and devotion to duty at the Battle of Dernancourt, and he was recommended for a Bar to his DCM on the 8th of April 1918 by the commander of the 12th Australian Brigade, Brigadier General John Gellibrand.
Brigadier General Sir John Gellibrand (AWM)
Caleb had volunteered to man an observation post in an advanced position, and he remained there, firing at the enemy with his rifle until the post was destroyed. He then served as a ‘runner’, making repeated trips through intense fire carrying ammunition. When his company began to withdraw, he volunteered to remain to cover them with a Lewis gun, which he did successfully.
Lewis gun displayed in Elgin Military Museum in St Thomas, Ontario - Balcer (Wikipedia)
Men of the 28th Battalion of the 2nd Australian Division practising Lewis gun drill at Renescure, northern France (Wikipedia)
On the 25th of August 1918, Caleb was awarded a Bar to the DCM.
The Germans launched another attack on the town of Villers-Bretonneux in what was to become the Second Battle of Villers-Bretonneux (24-27 April 1918).
This battle marked the first time two tank forces fought one another – 3 British Mark IVs against 3 German A7Vs. It proved to be the biggest and most successful tank action of the German army in World War 1.
A counterattack by 2 Australian brigades and a British brigade recaptured the town on the 25th of April. Assisted by the Moroccan division of the French army, the original front line was more or less restored by the 27th of April. However, fighting continued in Villers-Bretonneux and the surrounding area for months afterwards.
Displaying yet more bravery and initiative on the 1st of May in the fighting at Villers-Bretonneux, Caleb was recommended for the Military Medal by the commander of the 12th Australian Brigade, Colonel Raymond Leane.
Colonel Raymond Leane (Wikipedia)
After scouting the area in daylight under heavy fire, Caleb established an observation post, which he maintained without relief. Despite being continually sniped at, he successfully relayed information about enemy movement to his company and directed artillery fire onto the German formations.
Caleb was awarded the Military Medal on the 13th of September 1918.
Having suffered severe casualties and with little in the way of reinforcements to make up their numbers, the 47th Battalion was disbanded on the 31st of May 1918. Command and disciplinary problems were also to blame.
'Heroes of the 47th' decorated veterans of the 47th Battalion AIF, photographed possibly at their disbandment May 1918, Caleb centre standing (Herald Sun)
Caleb was posted to the 45th Battalion where he continued to serve except for a fortnight’s detachment to the 48th Battalion in June 1918.
While serving in the 45th Battalion at the Battle of Amiens during the Hundred Days Offensive, which began on the 8th of August 1918 and led to the end of the war, Caleb was wounded by shell fire to his right leg on the 16th of August.
He was evacuated to a hospital in the UK. While he was convalescing in England, the war ended.
Caleb left England on the 10th of December 1918, arriving home in Cairns, Queensland on the 21st of March 1919.
Instead of an ordinary homecoming, the shy, quiet man received a hero’s welcome. About 3,000 people had turned out to welcome him, including the Mayor of Cairns and the ‘Returned Soldier’s League’.
Discharged from the AIF on the 9th of April 1919, Caleb resumed civilian life working as a herbalist in Victoria.
On the 28th of April 1923, he married Anna Louise Kassene. The couple moved back to Cairns and had 3 children, 2 daughters – Delta and Nancy – and a son, Hilton.
Caleb worked various jobs including as a clerk, taxi driver and bookmaker. He was also an active member of the Cairns’ sub-branch of the Returned Sailors and Soldiers Imperial League of Australia, a support organisation for those who have served and are serving in the Defence Force.
Throughout the 1930s, Caleb spent long periods in hospital due to poor health.
In 1934, he was granted a full war service pension.
During World War 2, Caleb, 57 years old at the time, enlisted in the Volunteer Defence Corps (VDC) in Cairns on the 21st of April 1942.
Members of the VDC in 1942 before they were issued with uniforms (Wikipedia)
A part-time volunteer force modelled on the British Home Guard – an armed citizen militia supporting the British Army during World War 2 – the VDC comprised World War 1 veterans, men in reserved occupations (those employed in occupations considered important enough to a country they’re exempt, even forbidden, from military service), and men aged 16-18 who were too young to enlist.
Following the disbandment of the Corps on the 24th of August 1945, Caleb was discharged on the 21st of October 1945.
During the war, with anti-Asian sentiment running high because of Japan’s role in the war, Caleb was occasionally subjected to racial slurs. Because he barely spoke of his time serving in World War 1, very few were aware of his distinguished AIF war record and that he was in the service of the VDC.
According to his daughter, Delta, she believes the reason he marched in the ANZAC Day parade in April 1943, complete with his medals, the only time he ever participated, was largely to counter the racism felt during that time.
Caleb Shang died on the 6th of April 1953, aged 68, and is buried in Cairns’ cemetery.
His photograph and medals are on display in the Cairns Regional Gallery. And Shang Street in Mooroobool, a suburb of Cairns, is named after him.
Yet again, I’m filled with admiration and respect, learning of what this man voluntarily put himself through, fighting in a war on the other side of his home. Like Francis Pegahmagabow, Caleb Shang strikes me as a man with an unshakeable sense of duty who willingly placed himself in harm’s way for the sake of his brothers-in-arms.