The Japanese 18th Army was formed on November 9, 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
New Guinea. Upon establishment, it was made up of three divisions: the
20th, which had been raised from men from
Kyushu, and the
41st and
51st Divisions formed from the
Kantō region. with the loss of 3,664 men, and only 2,427 men of the division were rescued.
Operation Cartwheel, an Allied master plan implemented from mid-1943, progressively severed the supply lines between Rabaul and frontline Japanese forces. Key defeats included the withdrawal of the
Imperial Japanese Navy from the
Solomon Islands campaign, followed by
landings on New Britain, as well as
Aitape and
Hollandia, in April 1944. Adachi's forces were badly affected by tropical diseases including
malaria,
heat exhaustion and
malnutrition for the remainder of the war, The remnants of the Japanese 18th Army surrendered to the
Australian 6th Division at
Cape Wom, by
Wewak, New Guinea. They were held on Mushu Island before being returned to Japan. ==List of Commanders==