In the spring of 1922 Zhang personally took the position of Commander-in-Chief of the Fengtian Army, and on 19 April his forces entered China proper. As his men took Beijing three days later, fighting soon broke out. On 4 May the Fengtian Army were seriously defeated by the Zhili Army in what came to be known as the First Zhili–Fengtian War. Three thousand troops had been killed and 7,000 wounded, and Zhang's units retreated to Shanhai Pass. Zhili forces were in control of Beijing, Zhang's image as a national leader had been destroyed and he reacted by declaring Manchuria independent from Beijing in May 1922.