Seventeenth Army (Japan)

The Japanese 17th Army (第17軍, Dai-jū nana gun) was an army of the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II.

Japanese Seventeenth Army
General Kanda signs surrender
ActiveMay 18, 1942 – August 15, 1945
CountryEmpire of Japan
BranchImperial Japanese Army
TypeInfantry
RoleCorps
Garrison/HQRabaul
Nickname(s)　Oki (沖, Offshore)
EngagementsSolomon Islands campaign

History

The army was formed on May 18, 1942 under the Japanese Eighth Area Army of the Southern Expeditionary Army Group for the specific task of opposing landings by Allied forces in Japanese-occupied Solomon Islands. It was initially headquartered on Rabaul and participated in the Guadalcanal and New Guinea campaigns of the South West Pacific theatre of World War II.[1]

After General Hitoshi Imamura took over command of the Japanese Eighth Area Army the 17th Army was responsible primarily for the defense of Bougainville.[2] It was trapped and cut off from reinforcements and re-supply during the Bougainville campaign (1943–45), and was forced to live off the land, hiding in jungle caves for most of the rest of the war.[3]

List of commanders

Commanding officer
NameFromTo
1Lieutenant General Harukichi Hyakutake18 May 19421 April 1945
2Lieutenant General Masatane Kanda1 April 194515 August 1945

Chief of Staff
NameFromTo
1Major General Akisaburo Futami5 May 19421 October 1942
2Lieutenant General Chuichi Miyazaki1 October 194211 May 1943
3Lieutenant General Tsutomu Akinaga11 May 194311 September 1943
4Major General Chikara Akinaga11 September 19431 April 1945
5Major General Isaoshi Makata1 April 19451 September 1945

Notes
  1. Smith, Bloody Ridge, p. 25.
  2. Hayashi, Kogun, pp. 224–225.
  3. Gailey, Bougainville.

References
  • Frank, Richard (1990). Guadalcanal: The Definitive Account of the Landmark Battle. New York: Random House. ISBN 0-394-58875-4.
  • Gailey, Harry A. (1991). Bougainville, 1943–1945: The Forgotten Campaign. Lexington, Kentucky, USA: University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 0-8131-9047-9.
  • Hayashi, Saburo (1959). Kogun: The Japanese Army in the Pacific War. Marine Corps. Association. ASIN B000ID3YRK.
  • Smith, Michael T. (2000). Bloody Ridge: The Battle That Saved Guadalcanal. New York: Pocket. ISBN 0-7434-6321-8.
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