Operation Ke

Operation Ke (ケ号作戦?) was the largely successful withdrawal of Japanese forces from Guadalcanal at the conclusion of the Guadalcanal Campaign of World War II. The operation took place between 14 January and 7 February 1943, and involved both army and navy 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 Japanese army to recapture Henderson Field, the airfield on Guadalcanal in use by Allied aircraft, had failed with heavy losses for the Japanese. Japanese ground forces on the island were beginning to die in large numbers from starvation and lack of adequate medical care. Japanese naval forces in the area were also suffering heavy losses attempting to reinforce and resupply the Japanese forces on the island. These losses, plus the projected resources needed for more 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 with the delivery of a battalion of infantry troops to Guadalcanal to act as rearguard for the evacuation. Around the same time, Japanese army and navy air forces began an air superiority campaign around the Solomon Islands and New Guinea. During the air campaign, a U.S. cruiser was sunk in the Battle of Rennell Island. Two days later, Japanese aircraft sank a U.S. destroyer near Guadalcanal. The actual withdrawal was carried out on the nights of 1, 4, and 7 February by destroyers. Apart from some air and PT boat attacks on the evacuating destroyers, Allied forces did not actively attempt to impede the withdrawal because Allied commanders believed the operation was actually a reinforcement operation, not an evacuation.

In total, the Japanese evacuated 10,652 men from Guadalcanal at a cost of one destroyer sunk and three damaged. 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.