What happened when 35,000 Allied troops landed on Kiska Island in the Aleutians in 1943?
Answer
They found the island completely empty — the Japanese had secretly evacuated 5,183 troops under cover of Arctic fog two weeks earlier without Allied intelligence detecting it
Did You Know?
The Allied landing on Kiska resulted in 92 casualties from friendly fire incidents and booby traps — against no enemy. The Japanese evacuation was a masterpiece of operational secrecy. The entire episode remains one of the most embarrassing intelligence failures of the Pacific War.