During the Pacific War, the attrition rate of Japanese destroyers was extremely high due to heavy, prolonged combat and the need to use them to transport supplies to scattered Japanese island garrisons. Early in the war, "Yukikaze" took part in the invasions of the Philippines and the Dutch East Indies. She participated in the battles of Midway, Santa Cruz, Leyte Gulf, and the Philippine Sea, as well as a lengthy stint on Guadalcanal troop runs and the naval battles around that island. "Yukikaze" also survived Operation Ten-Go, during which the battleship was sunk. Between these major engagements, "Yukikaze" participated in escort duty for ships in transit, particularly in the redeployment of the aircraft carrier during which the newly completed carrier was torpedoed by a U.S. Navy submarine and sunk. She spent the last months of the war on security duty in Japanese harbors and survived many Allied air raids.