The landings on the island of Leyte were accomplished by a force of 700 vessels and 174,000 men. General MacArthur discharged his promise to return to the Philippines on October 20, 1944. Filipinos remained loyal to the United States, partly because of the American guarantee of independence, and also because the Japanese had pressed large numbers of Filipinos into work details and even put young Filipino women into brothels. MacArthur supplied them by submarine, and sent reinforcements and officers. A highly effective guerilla campaign by Philippine resistance forces controlled sixty percent of the islands, mostly jungle and mountain areas. Japan occupied the Philippines for over three years, until the surrender of Japan. The 13,000 survivors on Corregidor surrendered on May 6. The 76,000 starving and sick American and Filipino defenders on Bataan surrendered on April 9, 1942, and were forced to endure the infamous Bataan Death March on which 7,000-10,000 died or were murdered. General Douglas MacArthur escaped Corregidor on the night of Mafor Australia, 4,000 km away. Lacking air cover, the American Asiatic Fleet in the Philippines withdrew to Java on December 12, 1941. As at Pearl Harbor, the American aircraft were severely damaged in the initial Japanese attack. The invasion of the Philippines started on December 8, 1941, ten hours after the attack on Pearl Harbor. The Japanese occupation of the Philippines occurred between 19, when the Empire of Japan occupied the Commonwealth of the Philippines during World War II.