Eighth Area Army Explained

Unit Name:	Eighth Area Army
Dates:	November 16, 1942 – August 15, 1945
Country:	Empire of Japan
Branch:	Imperial Japanese Army
Type:	Infantry
Role:	Field Army
Garrison:	Rabaul
Nickname:	剛(Gō = “strength”)
Battles:	Solomon Islands campaign New Guinea campaign Proposed invasion of Australia

The was a field army of the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II. The army was formed on 9 November 1942, becoming effective on 26 November at Rabaul as part of the Southern Army. The army was disbanded in September 1945.

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 in Japanese-occupied Solomon Islands and New Guinea.^[1] It had its headquarters at Rabaul, New Britain and saw considerable combat in the Solomon Islands campaign, Bougainville campaign and New Guinea campaign.^[2]

Organisation

• Seventeenth Army^[3]
• Eighteenth Army
• 6th Division
• 1st Independent Mixed Brigade
• 12th Air Brigade
• Part of the 5th Division (20 November 1942)
• 6th Air Division (25 November 1942)
• 7th Air Division (29 January 1943)

List of Commanders

	Name	From	To
Commanding officer		9 November 1942	15 August 1945
Chief of Staff		9 November 1942	15 August 1945

References

• Book: McGee , William L . 2002 . The Solomons Campaigns, 1942-1943: From Guadalcanal to Bougainville--Pacific War Turning Point, Volume 2 . BMC Publications . 0-9701678-7-3.
• Book: Madej , Victor . 1981 . Japanese Armed Forces Order of Battle, 1937-1945 . Game Publishing Company . ASIN: B000L4CYWW.
• Book: Marston , Daniel . 2005 . The Pacific War Companion: From Pearl Harbor to Hiroshima . Osprey Publishing . 1-84176-882-0.
• Book: Nalty , Bernard . 1999 . War in the Pacific: Pearl Harbor to Tokyo Bay : The Story of the Bitter Struggle in the Pacific Theater of World War II . University of Oklahoma Press . 0-8061-3199-3.
• Book: Rottman , Gordon . 2005 . Japanese Army in World War II: Conquest of the Pacific 1941-42 (Battle Orders) . Osprey Publishing . 1-84176-789-1.
• Book: Rottman , Gordon . 2002 . Japanese Army in World War II: "The South Pacific and New Guinea, 1942-43" (Battle Orders) . Osprey Publishing . 1-84176-870-7.

External links

• Web site: Wendel. Marcus. Axis History Factbook. Japanese Eighth Area Army.

Notes and References

1. McGee, The Solomons Campaigns, 1942-1943
2. Nalty, War in the Pacific: Pearl Harbor to Tokyo Bay
3. Web site: Chapter VIII, Defence of Papua, Reports of General MacArthur,JAPANESE OPERATIONS IN THE SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA, VOLUME II - PART I. U.S. ARMY CENTER OF MILITARY HISTORY. 3 January 2011. 7 November 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20151107213207/http://www.history.army.mil/books/wwii/macarthur%20reports/macarthur%20v2%20p1/ch8.htm. dead.