The was an

infantry division A division is a large military unit or formation, usually consisting of between 6,000 and 25,000 soldiers. In most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades; in turn, several divisions typically make up a corps. Histo ...

in the

Imperial Japanese Army The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emper ...

. Its

tsūshōgō were unit code names used by the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) during World War II. Each ''tsūshōgō'' consisted of a and a . Unit Character Codes typically consisted of one character, although some units established in the late stages of the ...

code name A code name, call sign or cryptonym is a code word or name used, sometimes clandestinely, to refer to another name, word, project, or person. Code names are often used for military purposes, or in espionage. They may also be used in industrial ...

was the . The 17th Division was one of two infantry divisions raised by the Imperial Japanese Army immediately after the

Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War ( ja, 日露戦争, Nichiro sensō, Japanese-Russian War; russian: Ру́сско-япóнская войнá, Rússko-yapónskaya voyná) was fought between the Empire of Japan and the Russian Empire during 1904 and 1 ...

(1904–1905). The division received its colors on 13 November 1907. Its original headquarters was in a suburb of the city of

Okayama is the capital city of Okayama Prefecture in the Chūgoku region of Japan. The city was founded on June 1, 1889. , the city has an estimated population of 720,841 and a population density of 910 persons per km2. The total area is . The city is ...

, and its troops were recruited primarily from communities in the three prefectures of

Hiroshima is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 1,199,391. The gross domestic product (GDP) in Greater Hiroshima, Hiroshima Urban Employment Area, was US$61.3 billion as of 2010. Kazumi Matsui ...

, and Shimane. The first commander of the division was Lieutenant General Ichinohe Hyoe.

Action

The division was raised in 1905. On 4 March 1908, the headquarters of the ''17th division'' was transferred to rural

Mitsu District, Okayama was a district located in Okayama Prefecture, Japan. As of 2003, the district had an estimated population of 22,923. The total area was 345.10 km2. On April 1, 1900, the district was founded after the mergers of Mino and Tsudaka Distric ...

(now part of the city of Okayama). On 18 March 1915, the headquarters of the division moved to a more central location in Okayama city. However, on 26 March 1915 it was ordered to

Liaoyang Liaoyang () is a prefecture-level city of east-central Liaoning province, China, situated on the Taizi River. It is approximately one hour south of Shenyang, the provincial capital, by car. Liaoyang is home to Liaoning University's College of F ...

Manchuria Manchuria is an exonym (derived from the endo demonym " Manchu") for a historical and geographic region in Northeast Asia encompassing the entirety of present-day Northeast China (Inner Manchuria) and parts of the Russian Far East (Outer M ...

as a garrison force, before returning to

10 May 1917. However, in 1925, the division was inactivated. This was authorized by Minister of War

Ugaki Kazushige was a Japanese general in the Imperial Japanese Army and cabinet minister before World War II, the 5th principal of Takushoku University, and twice Governor-General of Korea. Nicknamed Ugaki Issei, he served as Foreign Minister of Japan in th ...

as part of a cost-saving measure during the Kato Takaaki administration, together with the 13th, 15th and

18th 18 (eighteen) is the natural number following 17 and preceding 19. In mathematics * Eighteen is a composite number, its divisors being 1, 2, 3, 6 and 9. Three of these divisors (3, 6 and 9) add up to 18, hence 18 is a semiperfect numb ...

divisions. The 17th Division was resurrected in 1938. At this time, it was formed as a

triangular division A triangular division is a designation given to the way military divisions are organized. In a triangular organization, the division's main body is composed of three regimental maneuver elements. These regiments may be controlled by a brigade hea ...

as part of the general military buildup after the start of the

Second Sino-Japanese War The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific T ...

. Initially the ''17th division'' was used to replace the transferred 10th division within the

China Expeditionary Army The was a general army of the Imperial Japanese Army from 1939 to 1945. The China Expeditionary Army was established in September 1939 from the merger of the Central China Expeditionary Army and Japanese Northern China Area Army, and was headq ...

, and participated in the

Battle of Wuhan The Battle of Wuhan (武漢之戰), popularly known to the Chinese as the Defense of Wuhan, and to the Japanese as the Capture of Wuhan, was a large-scale battle of the Second Sino-Japanese War. Engagements took place across vast areas of Anhui ...

. Elements of the division were recalled to Japan in July 1940, while the rest garrisoned the

Xuzhou Xuzhou (徐州), also known as Pengcheng (彭城) in ancient times, is a major city in northwestern Jiangsu province, China. The city, with a recorded population of 9,083,790 at the 2020 census (3,135,660 of which lived in the built-up area ma ...

area until relieved by 65th Division. During the

Pacific War The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War, was the theater of World War II that was fought in Asia, the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and Oceania. It was geographically the largest theater of the war, including the vas ...

, the 17th Division's main combat elements included the 53rd, 54th and 81st Infantry Regiments. These were supported by the 23rd Field Artillery Regiment, the 17th Engineer Regiment, the 17th Transport Regiment and a company of tanks. The division was assigned to the Southern Expeditionary Army Group in September 1943, and was transferred to

New Britain New Britain ( tpi, Niu Briten) is the largest island in the Bismarck Archipelago, part of the Islands Region of Papua New Guinea. It is separated from New Guinea by a northwest corner of the Solomon Sea (or with an island hop of Umboi the D ...

in the

Solomon Islands Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capit ...

under command of the

8th Area Army The was a field army of the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II. History The Japanese 8th Area Army was formed on November 16, 1942 under the Southern Expeditionary Army Group for the specific task of opposing landings by Allied forces ...

headquartered in

Rabaul Rabaul () is a township in the East New Britain province of Papua New Guinea, on the island of New Britain. It lies about 600 kilometres to the east of the island of New Guinea. Rabaul was the provincial capital and most important settlement in ...

. The first echelon of the 17th Division sailed from

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Chinese, Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four Direct-administered municipalities of China, direct-administered municipalities of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the ...

on 20 September 1943, and arrived at Rabaul on 5 October 1943. The second echelon sailed via the same route between 21 October 1943 and 4 November 1943. A separate small convoy that sailed from

on 20 October was ambushed by the US submarine on 22 October 1943, and 1,087 men of the 17th Division died when auxiliary cruiser '' Awata Maru'' was sunk. The remains of convoy arrived in Rabaul on 12 November 1943.IJN Auxiliary Submarine Depot Ship HIE MARU: Tabular Record of Movement
/ref> Approximately one-third of the 17th Division's forces (the HQ staff and IJA 81st Infantry Regiment) were stationed on neighboring

Bougainville Island Bougainville Island (Tok Pisin: ''Bogenvil'') is the main island of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, which is part of Papua New Guinea. It was previously the main landmass in the German Empire-associated North Solomon Islands, North Solo ...

, where they were transformed into the 38th Independent Mixed Brigade in July 1944. The remainder of the division, under the command of Lieutenant General

Iwao Matsuda was a Japanese politician of the Liberal Democratic Party who was a member of the House of Councillors in the Diet (national legislature). A native of Gifu, Gifu, Japan, and graduate of the University of Tokyo, he joined the Ministry of Intern ...

, fought at the Battle of Cape Gloucester and the

Battle of New Britain The New Britain campaign was a World War II campaign fought between Allied and Imperial Japanese forces. The campaign was initiated by the Allies in late 1943 as part of a major offensive which aimed to neutralise the important Japanese base ...

, incorporating the 51st Reconnaissance Regiment in the process. At the end of battle the division was reduced to the couple of the independent mixed regiments guarding hospital areas. The 17th Division survivors surrendered on New Britain to Allied forces with the

surrender of Japan The surrender of the Empire of Japan in World War II was announced by Emperor Hirohito on 15 August and formally signed on 2 September 1945, bringing the war's hostilities to a close. By the end of July 1945, the Imperial Japanese Na ...

on 15 August 1945.

Notes

References

* ** Madej, W. Victor. ''Japanese Armed Forces Order of Battle, 1937–1945'' volsAllentown, PA: 1981 * * This article incorporates material from the Japanese Wikipedia page 第17師団 (日本軍), accessed 3 March 2016 {{DEFAULTSORT:17th Division (Imperial Japanese Army) Japanese World War II divisions Infantry divisions of Japan Military units and formations established in 1907 Military units and formations disestablished in 1945 1907 establishments in Japan 1945 disestablishments in Japan Military units and formations disestablished in 1925 Military units and formations established in 1938

Action

See also

Notes

References