31st Guards Rifle Corps. The second phase of Operation Konrad began on January 7 as the German command shifted the 23rd Panzer Division northwest of Székesfehérvár along with the rest of the III Panzer Corps. It was soon apparent that the immediate goal of the offensive was Bicske with an additional threat along the axis to Zámoly. The 135th Corps (69th Guards, 252nd Rifle Division and 1st Guards Fortified Region) defended along the Army's left flank. Overnight on January 7/8 the 69th Guards' sector was relieved by units of the 252nd and 1st Guards and pulled back into Army reserve in the Székesfehérvár area to organize the defense of the city from the north. This phase of the offensive was brought to a halt a few days later. The third phase began on January 18 and the Army's main concern became the defense of Székesfehérvár; the division had by now returned to 21st Guards Corps, forming its second echelon behind the 41st Guards and 84th Rifle Divisions and was one of the few reserves available to Zakharov as the offensive opened. IV SS Panzer Corps planned to launch its assault along a 15km front held by the 252nd Division's 928th Rifle Regiment and the entire sector of 1st Guards Fortified Region with a total of 560 tanks. Despite an hour-long artillery preparation and air support the first German attacks were beaten back. Eventually the 1st Guard's defenses were overcome and Ősi and Sandorka were captured. By day's end the panzers had advanced from 16-30km. The 69th Guards occupied defensive positions along the western and southern outskirts of Székesfehérvár. Overnight General Zakharov reorganized his defense, ordered the bridges over the Sárvíz Canal blown, and assigned the division to the direct defense of the town. At dawn the 5th SS Panzer Division Wiking and 3rd SS Panzer Division Totenkopf forced the canal and continued to develop their offensive to the east, striving to reach the Danube. The advance made little further progress that day and the battle for Székesfehérvár continued through January 20 as Soviet artillery was brought up to reinforce the antitank defenses. The two SS divisions focused their efforts that day and the next on the reinforced 5th Guards Cavalry Corps between Lake Velence and the Danube but without notable success. The German plan for January 22 involved a short artillery preparation at 0530 hours after which the 5th SS