Katsura Tarō
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.