 On 28 February, Japanese forces under General Nozu Michitsura began a counterattack against Liaoyang and Niuzhuang, beginning with an artillery barrage and followed with an infantry offensive across a wide front.The Qing forces were driven in disorderly retreat to the northwest towards Jinzhou, offering only light and sporadic resistance.A portion of the Japanese army under Lieutenant General Katsura Tarō pursued the retreating Chinese to the walls of Liaoyang by 3 March, while the main force with the 3rd and IJA 5th Divisions under General Nozu reached Niuzhuang on 4 March.