[3][4] After the failed Filipino counterattack to regain Manila on February 23, General Antonio Luna, the Chief of War Operations of the Philippine Republic, resigned his post on February 28 in protest to the reinstatement of the Kawit Battalion, which Luna had disarmed for insubordination during the earlier fighting around Caloocan.

[4] Meanwhile, the Americans, anticipating another counteroffensive from the Filipino side, took their time waiting for reinforcements under General Henry Ware Lawton.

[4] By March 25, the Americans under General Arthur MacArthur, Jr. renewed their offensive against Caloocan and Polo, up to the ultimate drive to Malolos.

The Americans gained superiority in the battle only after severe fighting and the use of gunboats in the river that "made great execution" of Filipino soldiers.

The losses in the American drive to Malolos, the account also stated, had proven the Filipinos' effective fighting ability.