Japanese Eighth Area Army

Japanese Eighth Area Army
Disabled Japanese tank at Biak
Active	November 16, 1942 - August 15, 1945
Country	Empire of Japan
Branch	Imperial Japanese Army
Type	Infantry
Role	Field Army
Garrison/HQ	Rabaul
Nickname	剛(Gō = “strength”)
Engagements	Solomon Islands campaign New Guinea campaign

Japanese Eighth Area Army (1945)

Parent unit	Southern Expeditionary Army Group

Components	Japanese 17th Army Japanese 18th Army 38th Infantry Division IJA 39th Independent Mixed Brigade IJA 40th Independent Mixed Brigade IJA 65th Independent Infantry Brigade IJA 9th Artillery Headquarters

The Japanese Eighth Area Army (第8方面軍, Dai-hachi hōmen gun) 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 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]

	Name	From	To
Commanding officer	Lieutenant General Hitoshi Imamura	9 November 1942	15 August 1945
Chief of Staff	Major General Rimpei Katō	9 November 1942	15 August 1945

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