The crew of US PT boat PT 59 inspects the wreckage of the Japanese submarine I-1, sunk on 29 January 1943 at Kamimbo on Guadalcanal by HMNZS Kiwi and Moa
Operation Ke (ケ号作戦, Ke-gō Sakusen)[3] was the largely successful withdrawal of Japanese forces from Guadalcanal, concluding the Guadalcanal Campaign of World War II. The operation took place between 14 January and 7 February 1943, and involved both Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) and Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) forces under the overall direction of the Japanese Imperial General Headquarters (IGH). Commanders of the operation included Isoroku Yamamoto and Hitoshi Imamura.
The Japanese decided to withdraw and concede Guadalcanal to Allied forces for several reasons. All attempts by the IJA to recapture Henderson Field, the airfield on Guadalcanal in use by Allied aircraft, had been repulsed with heavy losses. Japanese ground forces on the island had been reduced from 36,000 to 11,000 through starvation, disease, and battle casualties. IJN forces were also suffering heavy losses attempting to reinforce and resupply the ground forces on the island. These losses, plus the projected resources needed for further attempts to recapture Guadalcanal, were affecting strategic security and operations in other areas of the Japanese Empire. The decision to withdraw was endorsed by Emperor Hirohito on 31 December 1942.
The operation began on 14 January 1943 with the delivery of a battalion of infantry troops to Guadalcanal to act as rearguard for the evacuation. Around the same time, IJA and IJN air forces began an air superiority campaign around the Solomon Islands and New Guinea. During the air campaign, a US cruiser was sunk in the Battle of Rennell Island. Two days later, Japanese aircraft sank a US destroyer near Guadalcanal. The withdrawal was carried out on the nights of 1, 4, and 7 February by destroyers.
At a cost of one destroyer sunk and three damaged, the Japanese evacuated 10,652 men from Guadalcanal. During the evacuation 600 died and 3,000 more required extensive hospital care. On 9 February, Allied forces realized that the Japanese were gone and declared Guadalcanal secure, ending the six-month campaign for control of the island.
^Frank, pp. 595–596.
^Zimmerman, p. 164; Frank, pp. 595–596.
^Later, Japanese evacuation of Kiska (ja:キスカ島撤退作戦) was also officially named Operation Ke.
OperationKe (ケ号作戦, Ke-gō Sakusen) was the largely successful withdrawal of Japanese forces from Guadalcanal, concluding the Guadalcanal Campaign of World...
up ke in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. KE, ke, and variations may refer to: Ke (kana), the romanisation of the Japanese kana け and ケ Small ke (ヶ)...
Allied operations, such as Operation MB8, that were successful, and note the extent to which the American intelligence coup derailed the operation before...
decision. The Japanese secretly began to prepare for the evacuation, called OperationKe, scheduled to begin during the latter part of January 1943. By December...
convoy to New Guinea in December. In early 1943 the ship participated in OperationKe, the evacuation of Japanese troops from Guadalcanal. Six months later...
Express no longer has terminus on Guadalcanal." Battle of Tassafaronga OperationKe Battle of the Bismarck Sea Battle of Ormoc Bay Evans 176 Coombe, Derailing...
evacuation of Guadalcanal was codenamed OperationKe. The Americans detected the preparations for the operation and believed they were actually for another...
Japanese were obliged to use all disposable vessels in their retreat, "OperationKE" during the night of February 1–2, 1943, the last part of the so-called...
the next stage of the war. January 15 – WWII: Guadalcanal Campaign – OperationKe: Japanese forces begin to withdraw from Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands...
Japanese submarine I-1 in shallow water at Kamimbo Bay, Guadalcanal, during OperationKe. The submarine of 2,135 tons was much larger and more heavily armed than...
Dideportasi ke Cina". "Empat Mantan Narapidana Terorisme Uighur di Indonesia Dideportasi ke Cina". Wikimedia Commons has media related to Operation Madago...
ISBN 978-1-84486-276-4. Letourneau, Robert & Letourneau, Dennis (2012). OperationKE: The Cactus Air Force and the Japanese Withdrawal From Guadalcanal. Annapolis...
enemy targets during 1943. In late January 1943, she participated in "OperationKe", as part of a diversionary force and distant cover supporting Japanese...
Groundbreaking Ceremony to Rehabilitate Kayole Field - Kenyans.co.ke". www.kenyans.co.ke. Retrieved 27 April 2023. "AFC Leopards land Ksh. 65M-a-year sponsorship...
the surviving Japanese troops from the island by the Japanese Navy in OperationKe. Building on their success at Guadalcanal and elsewhere, the Allies continued...
stage of the Keoperation, which was the actual evacuation of all Japanese troops from Guadalcanal. Allied forces misinterpreted the Ke preparations as...
evacuation of Imperial Japanese Army troops from Guadalcanal during OperationKe, ending Japanese attempts to retake the island from Allied forces in...
Army in Guadalcanal in the Pacific theatre of the Second World War (OperationKe). The withdrawal was largely successful. Imoto was the senior surviving...
during the Crimea Campaign Evacuations during the Siege of Leningrad OperationKe, Japanese evacuation from Guadalcanal, Jan-Feb 1943 Japanese evacuation...
and found that most of the Japanese had already been evacuated during OperationKe. The wreck of one of the midget submarines still lies underwater in the...
Brunei on the 28th. In May 1945, Haguro was the target of the British "Operation Dukedom" and was ambushed. The 26th Destroyer Flotilla found her with...
Maud Land in Antarctica. 1943 – World War II: Japan begins OperationKe, the successful operation to evacuate its forces from Guadalcanal during the Guadalcanal...