Hitoshi Imamura
In May 1942 Hyakutake was assigned command of the IJA 17th Army, headquartered at Rabaul in the Southwest Pacific. His command was subsequently involved in the New Guinea, Guadalcanal, and Solomon Islands campaigns. After the Japanese Eighth Area Army under General Hitoshi Imamura took over operations in the theater, Hyakutake directed Japanese army units solely in the Solomons, primarily on Bougainville. He and his forces were trapped on Bougainville when the Allies established a heavily fortified perimeter at Cape Torokina, and Hyakutake was cut off from reinforcements and re-supply. His attacks on the perimeter failed, and his army was forced to live off the land, hiding in jungle caves for most of the rest of the war.