T" (the invasion of northern Sumatra) on 12 March and the "Operation D", (the invasion of the Andaman Islands) on 23 March. She subsequently served patrol and escort duties out of Port Blair during the Japanese raids into the Indian Ocean. On 13–22 April she returned to Kure Naval Arsenal for maintenance. On 4–5 June 1942, Hatsuyuki participated in the Battle of Midway as part of Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto's main fleet. In July 1942, Hatsuyuki sailed from Amami-Ōshima to Mako Guard District, Singapore, Sabang and Mergui for a projected second Indian Ocean raid. The operation was cancelled due to the Guadalcanal campaign, and she was ordered to Truk instead. From August onward, she was used for "Tokyo Express" high speed transport missions in the Solomon Islands. On one of this missions, on 4–5 September, Hatsuyuki assisted in sinking the high-speed transports and . During the Battle of Cape Esperance on 11–12 October, Hatsuyuki took 518 survivors off of the sinking cruiser , and two days later escorted the badly damaged to Truk. During the Battle of Santa Cruz on 26 October, she was on alert station at Shortland Island. After helping evacuate surviving Japanese forces from Guadalcanal in early November, from 12–15 November, Hatsuyuki took part in the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal. Initially she escorted the Support Force commanded by Admiral Takeo Kurita, then joined the Emergency Bombardment Force of Admiral Nobutake Kondō. With the cruiser in the assault on enemy destroyers, Hatsuyuki assisted in sinking , , and and damaging . Hatsuyuki then returned to Truk on 18 November. After making one more transport run to Rabaul in December, Hatsuyuki was assigned to escort aircraft carrier back to Kure Naval Arsenal for repairs. In January 1943, Hatsuyuki escorted a troop convoy from Pusan to Palau and on to Wewak. She continued to patrol and escort in the Solomon Islands until the end of February, when she was reassigned to the IJN 8th Fleet. In March, Hatsuyuki assisted the survivors of the Battle of Bismarck Sea, before returning to Kure for refit. In May, she escorted aircraft carrier from Yokosuka to Manila, Surabaya, Singapore, and back to Mako Guard District to Sasebo Naval District. In June, Hatsuyuki returned to Rabaul, and resumed "Tokyo Express" missions. In the Battle of Kula Gulf off of Kolombangara on 5 July, Hatsuyuki engaged a group of American cruisers and destroyers, and was hit by