Troops under Major von der Oelsnitz got into Liège and nearly captured General Léman, the Military Governor before being killed or captured. By dawn the brigade was on high ground north-west of Herstal, with its units mixed up and having suffered many casualties. Belgian troops counter-attacked from Liège and the troops were bombarded by Liers and Pontisse until when Kraewel ordered a retreat, which had to run the gauntlet between the forts and suffered many more casualties. The retreat continued all the way back to the Meuse at Lixhe, with The advance of the 27th Brigade (Colonel von Massow) was hemmed in by houses, hedges and fences which made flanking moves extremely difficult. The force was bombarded by the guns of forts Wandre and Barcheron at a defensive position beyond Argenteau, where disorganisation and confusion led to the Germans firing on each other as well as the Belgians. By dawn the brigade had reached Fort Wandre but the arrival of Belgian reinforcements led Massow to order a withdrawal to Argenteau. On the left, a second column was held up at Blegny, east of Fort Barcheron and retired to Battice, when the fate of the other columns became known. To the south-east, the 11th Brigade (Major-General von Wachter) attacked through St. Hadelin and Magnée, where it was also strung out in a narrow column by buildings along the road. Small-arms fire forced the Germans between the houses and delayed the advance, which did not reach Romsée until where the Belgian 14th Regiment had been able to prepare defences. The Belgians were defeated but only after artillery had been brought forward; the advance towards Beyne-Heusay bogged down. Uncertainty about the flanks led Wachter to order a retirement to ravines east of Magnée, to gain cover against the bombardment from forts Pieron and Chaudfontaine. South of the Vesdre, the 38th Brigade (Major-General von Hülsen) advance had begun on 5 August at with the 43rd Brigade in reserve. The attackers were severely bombarded while still on the start-line and a thunderstorm, roadblocks and difficult forest paths made the advance harder. At Esneux and Poulseur, German supplies were looted "by Belgian civilians" and had to be rescued. An engagement began in woods east of Fort Boncelles; Hülsen was wounded and Belgian small-arms fire at the rear of the column, threw it into confusion. The Belgian defences were captured by the morning of 6 August but