After losing Attu to the Americans in battle during May 1943, the Japanese withdrew from Kiska in July 1943. They did so without the Americans' notice. Puzzlement at the Japanese disappearance led to widely-reported speculation by officers of the 11th Air Force that they had sailed off on a fleet of barges to rendezvous with ocean-going transports in the lee of Buldir. In fact, the Japanese sailed eight transports into Kiska Harbor and evacuated the entire garrison under cover of fog. Buldir played no role in the evacuation.