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. After
General Hitoshi Imamura took over command of the
Japanese Eighth Area Army the 17th Army was responsible primarily for the defense of
Bougainville. 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. ==List of commanders==