The Philippines had suffered under the Japanese occupation. A
highly effective guerilla campaign controlled sixty percent of
the islands, mostly jungle and mountain areas. MacArthur had
supplied them by submarine, and sent reinforcements and
officers. 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 returned to the Philippines in force on October 20,
1944. He waded in with Philippine President Sergio Osmeña,
restaging the landing a second time for the newsreel cameras.
The US Army forces met resistance, but steadily advanced, until
the landings at Ormoc on December 7, 1944. Most of the fighting
was at sea during the Battle of Leyte Gulf. Ormoc saw the
widespread use of kamikazes while the Americans ran into
fortified positions and heavy artillery. MacArthur fought north
through the Philippines all through the F