17th Division (Imperial Japanese Army)

December 2022 17th Division Clubhouse in Okayama Prefectural Multipurpose Grounds.JPG 300 For IJA 17th Division Officer's Club, Okayama 13 November 1907 – 1 May 19254 April 1938 – 1945 Empire of Japan Imperial Japanese Army Infantry Okayama, Japan Moon Division Second Sino-Japanese WarWorld War II 17th Division 1905–1925 33. Infantry brigade 41. Infantry Regiment (Hiroshima) 54. Infantry Regiment (Okayama) 34. Infantry brigade 21. Infantry regiment 21 (Hamada) 63. Infantry regiment (Hiroshima) 21. Cavalry regiment 23. Field artillery regiment 17. Engineer battalion 17. Logistics battalion 17th Division 1940–45 53rd Infantry Regiment (Tottori) 54th Infantry Regiment (Okayama) 2. Independent mixed regiment 6. Independent mixed regiment 23. Field artillery regiment 17. Engineer regiment 17. Logistics regiment 17. Signals company 17. Ordnance company 17/1. Field Hospital 17/2. Field Hospital 17/4. Field Hospital 17. Veterinary department 51. Reconnaissance regiment The 17th Division 第17師団 Dai-jūnana Shidan was an infantry division in the Imperial Japanese Army. Its tsūshōgō code name was the Moon Division 月兵団 Tsuki-heidan. The 17th Division was one of two infantry divisions raised by the Imperial Japanese Army immediately after the Russo-Japanese War (1904–1905). The division received its colors on 13 November 1907. Its original headquarters was in a suburb of the city of Okayama, and its troops were recruited primarily from communities in the three prefectures of Okayama, Hiroshima, and Shimane. The first commander of the division was Lieutenant General Ichinohe Hyoe. Action The division was raised in 1905.Rottman 2005 11 On 4 March 1908, the headquarters of the 17th division was transferred to rural Mitsu District, Okayama (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 in Manchuria as a garrison force, before returning to Okayama 10 May 1917. However, in 1925, the division was inactivated.Rottman 2005 11 This was authorized by Minister of War Ugaki Kazushige as part of a cost-saving measure during the Kato Takaaki administration, together with the 13th, 15th and 18th divisions. The 17th Division was resurrected in 1938.Rottman 2005 11 At this time, it was formed as a triangular division as part of the general military buildup after the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War. Initially the 17th division was used to replace the transferred 10th division within the China Expeditionary Army, and participated in the Battle of Wuhan. Elements of the division were recalled to Japan in July 1940, while the rest garrisoned the Xuzhou area until relieved by 65th Division. During the Pacific War, 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.Rottman 2005 15 The division was assigned to the Southern Expeditionary Army Group in September 1943, and was transferred to New Britain in the Solomon Islands under command of the 8th Area Army headquartered in Rabaul. The first echelon of the 17th Division sailed from Shanghai on 20 September 1943, and arrived at Rabaul on 5 October 1943.IJN KIYOSUMI MARU: Tabular Record of Movement The second echelon sailed via the same route between 21 October 1943 and 4 November 1943.IJN GOKOKU MARU: Tabular Record of Movement A separate small convoy that sailed from Shanghai on 20 October was ambushed by the US submarine Grayback SS-208 6 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 Approximately one-third of the 17th Division's forces (the HQ staff and IJA 81st Infantry Regiment) were stationed on neighboring Bougainville Island, 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, fought at the Battle of Cape Gloucester and the Battle of New Britain, 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 on 15 August 1945. See also List of Japanese Infantry Divisions Notes June 2013 References Hough Frank O. John A. Crown 1952 http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USMC/USMC-M-NBrit/index.html The Campaign on New Britain USMC Historical Monograph Historical Division, Division of Public Information, Headquarters U.S. Marine Corps 2006-12-04 https://web.archive.org/web/20061224114556/http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USMC/USMC-M-NBrit/index.html 24 December 2006 live Miller John Jr. 1959 http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USA/USA-P-Rabaul/index.html CARTWHEEL: The Reduction of Rabaul United States Army in World War II: The War in the Pacific 418 Office of the Chief of Military History, U.S. Department of the Army 20 October 2006* Madej, W. Victor. Japanese Armed Forces Order of Battle, 1937–1945 [2 vols] Allentown, PA: 1981 Rottman Gordon L. Duncan Anderson 2005 Japanese Army in World War II: The South Pacific and New Guinea, 1942–43 Osprey Oxford and New York 1-84176-870-7 This article incorporates material from the Japanese Wikipedia page 第17師団 (日本軍), accessed 3 March 2016 Category:Japanese World War II divisions Category:Infantry divisions of Japan Category:Military units and formations established in 1907 Category:Military units and formations disestablished in 1945 Category:1907 establishments in Japan Category:1945 disestablishments in Japan Category:Military units and formations disestablished in 1925 Category:Military units and formations established in 1938