only a brief respite. By the morning of 23 February Sparrow Force had been engaged from the rear by the main Japanese force once again. With his men low on ammunition, out of food and water, weary from little sleep, and hopelessly outnumbered, Leggatt surrendered at Irekum on 23 February. Both forces were bombed by Japanese aircraft in two waves at 10:00 am and 10:10 am and more men from both sides were killed. More Japanese then landed at Koepang, which brought their numbers up to about 22,000 in Dutch West Timor. The 2/40th Battalion had suffered 84 killed and 132 wounded in the fighting, while more than twice that number would die as prisoners of war during the next two and a half years. Veale and the Sparrow Force HQ force who were at Tjamplong and not in the main column at Irekum—including about 290 Australian and Dutch troops—continued eastward across the border, to link up with the 2/2 Independent Company. After months of training, some formed Platoon D of the 2nd Independent Company. On their own, February – April 1942 Between the capitulation at Irekum and 19 April 1942, the communication link with the Australian mainland was broken. By the end of February, the Japanese controlled most of Dutch Timor and the area around Dili in the northeast. However, they could not move into the south and east of the island without fear of attack. The 2/2nd Independent Company was specially trained for commando-style, stay behind operations and it had its own engineers and signalers, although it lacked heavy weapons and vehicles. The commandos were hidden throughout the mountains of Portuguese Timor, and they commenced raids against the Japanese, assisted by Timorese guides, native carriers and mountain ponies. Although Portuguese officials—under Governor Manuel de Abreu Ferreira de Carvalho—remained officially neutral and in charge of civil affairs, both the Portuguese and the indigenous East Timorese were usually sympathetic to the Allies, who were able to use the local telephone system to communicate among themselves and to gather intelligence on Japanese movements. However, the Allies initially did not have functioning radio equipment and were unable to contact Australia to inform them of their continued resistance. Doi sent the Australian honorary consul, David Ross, also the local Qantas agent, to find the commandos and pass on a demand to surrender. Spence responded: "Surrender? Surrender be fucked!" Ross gave the commandos information