The was an army corps of the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) during World War II.
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.Smith, Bloody Ridge, p. 25.
After General Hitoshi Imamura took over command of the Japanese Eighth Area Army the 17th Army was responsible primarily for the defense of Bougainville.Hayashi, Kogun, pp. 224–225. 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.Gailey, Bougainville.
List of commanders
Commanding officer # Name From To1 Lieutenant General Harukichi Hyakutake 18 May 19421 April 19452 Lieutenant General Masatane Kanda 1 April 194515 August 1945
Chief of Staff # Name From To1 Major General Akisaburo Futami 5 May 19421 October 19422 Lieutenant General Chuichi Miyazaki 1 October 194211 May 19433 Lieutenant General Tsutomu Akinaga 11 May 194311 September 19434 Major General Chikara Akinaga 11 September 19431 April 19455 Major General Isaoshi Makata 1 April 19451 September 1945
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