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In May 1942, General Joseph Stilwell officially ordered the evacuation of Burma. He tried to get himself, his staff and others out by air, rail, truck and jeep but by May 6 decided to walk out of Burma over very difficult terrain to Imphal, India. He took about 114 people, including his staff, medical people, and a Chinese general, and marched them out, arriving in India on May 20. By May 26, the Burma campaign was effectively over. Stilwell's famous assessment was this:

"I claim we got a hell of a beating. We got run out of Burma and it is humiliating as hell. I think we ought to find out why it happened and go back and retake it."