The was a
field army of 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 Emperor ...
during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
.
History
The Japanese 18th Army was formed on November 9, 1942,
under the
Japanese Eighth Area Army of the
Southern Expeditionary Army Group
The was a general army of the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II. It was responsible for all military operations in South East Asian and South West Pacific campaigns of World War II. Its military symbol was NA.
The Southern Expedition ...
for the specific task of opposing landings by
Allied forces in Japanese-occupied
New Guinea
New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; id, Papua, or , historically ) is the world's second-largest island with an area of . Located in Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is separated from Australia by the wide Torr ...
. Upon establishment, it was made up of three divisions: the
20th
20 (twenty; Roman numeral XX) is the natural number following 19 and preceding 21. A group of twenty units may also be referred to as a score.
In mathematics
*20 is a pronic number.
*20 is a tetrahedral number as 1, 4, 10, 20.
*20 is the ba ...
, which had been raised from men from
Kyushu
is the third-largest island of Japan's five main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands ( i.e. excluding Okinawa). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regional name referred to Kyushu and its surroun ...
, and the
41st and
51st Divisions formed from the
Kantō region.
[
]
New Guinea campaign
Both the 20th and 41st Divisions arrived in New Guinea safely. However, the 51st Division, including the army's commander, Hatazō Adachi
was a general in the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II.
Early career
Adachi was born into an impoverished family, originally descended from samurai, in Ishikawa Prefecture in 1890 (the 23rd year of the reign of Emperor Meiji, which i ...
, and his senior staff, came under Allied air attack while en route from their supply base at Rabaul to Lae, in the Battle of the Bismarck Sea
The Battle of the Bismarck Sea (2–4 March 1943) took place in the South West Pacific Area (SWPA) during World War II when aircraft of the U.S. Fifth Air Force and the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) attacked a Japanese convoy carrying troo ...
. All eight transport ships and four destroyers were sunk with the loss of 3,664 men, and only 2,427 men of the division were rescued.
Operation Cartwheel
Operation Cartwheel (1943–1944) was a major military operation for the Allies in the Pacific theatre of World War II. Cartwheel was an operation aimed at neutralising the major Japanese base at Rabaul. The operation was directed by the ...
, 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
The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, when it was dissolved following Japan's surrender ...
from the Solomon Islands campaign, followed by landings on New Britain, as well as Aitape and Hollandia Hollandia may refer to:
* HVV Hollandia, Dutch football team
* Hollandia Victoria Combinatie, defunct Dutch football team
* ''Hollandia'' (1742 ship), a ship of the Dutch East India Company, wrecked in 1743 on her maiden voyage
* Jayapura, a city ...
, in April 1944.
Adachi's forces were badly affected by tropical diseases including malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or deat ...
, heat exhaustion and malnutrition
Malnutrition occurs when an organism gets too few or too many nutrients, resulting in health problems. Specifically, it is "a deficiency, excess, or imbalance of energy, protein and other nutrients" which adversely affects the body's tissues ...
for the remainder of the war,[ despite Adachi's efforts to achieve some form of self-sufficiency by planting crops and giving priority in rations to the sick. As ammunition began to run low, many of Japanese field commanders resorted to banzai charges, rather than surrender.
By the end of the war in September 1945, most of his forces had been annihilated. Of Adachi's original 140,000 men, barely 13,000 were still alive when the war ended.][Williams and Nakagawa 2006, p. 59.] The remnants of the Japanese 18th Army surrendered to the Australian 6th Division at Cape Wom
Cape Wom is a cape (or small peninsula) near Wewak, Papua New Guinea, pointing into the Dogreto Bay of the Bismarck Sea
The Bismarck Sea (, ) lies in the southwestern Pacific Ocean within the nation of Papua New Guinea. It is located northeas ...
, by Wewak
Wewak is the capital of the East Sepik province of Papua New Guinea. It is on the northern coast of the island of New Guinea. It is the largest town between Madang and Jayapura. It is the see city (seat) of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Wewak.
...
, New Guinea.[Johnston 2008, p. 234.] They were held on Mushu Island before being returned to Japan.[
]
List of Commanders
Notes
References
Books
*
*
*
*
*
Journals
*{{cite journal, author=Williams, Peter D. , author2=Nakagawa, Naoko , title=The Japanese 18th Army in New Guinea , journal=Wartime , issue=36 , date=October 2006 , pages=58–63 , publisher=Australian War Memorial , location=Canberra, Australian Capital Territory , issn=1328-2727
18
Military units and formations established in 1942
Military units and formations disestablished in 1945
J