encircle and destroy the German group of forces in the Oppeln salient. 59th Army would launch its main attack along the left flank with the 93rd and 115th Rifle Corps and the 7th Guards Mechanized Corps in the general direction of Kostenthal and Zultz. 93rd Corps would have just the 98th Division in the first echelon. The 391st would be committed on the second day with the objective of reaching a line from Ober Glogau to Deutsch Rasselwitz to Stundorf. The offensive on the 59th and 60th Army's sector began at 0850 hours on March 15 following an 80-minute artillery preparation and went largely according to plan although more slowly than expected. The main German defense zone was broken through on a 12km front and advanced 6 - 8km during the day. Bad weather prevented air support before noon, and the advancing forces also had to repel ten counterattacks. In response Marshal Konev ordered that the advance continue through the night. During the day on March 16 the 59th Army managed to advance another 3 - 9km, and the 93rd Rifle and 7th Guards Mechanized Corps cleared the entire depth of the German defenses and set the stage for the success of the attack over the next two days. By the end of March 17 the two corps had reached the line Tomas - Schenau - Kittledorf while the 115th Corps covered against flank attacks from the north. By noon on the next day the 93rd and 7th Guards forced the Hotzenplotz River and began to pursue the remnants of the defeated German forces. During the day the 59th Army linked up with the 21st Army, encircling the 20th SS, 168th and 344th Infantry Divisions, part of the 18th SS Panzergrenadier Division, and several independent regiments and battalions in the area southwest of Oppeln. With the encirclement completed the 93rd Corps was tasked with preventing the encircled grouping from breaking out to the southwest. The 391st and the 26th Guards Mechanized Brigade of 7th Guards Corps were ordered to securely hold the line Neustadt - Kunzendorf - Kröschendorf in order to prevent a breakthrough by German forces into the encirclement from the south. On March 19 up to a battalion of encircled infantry, supported by tanks and assault guns, attacked the left flank of the division in the Hozenplotz area but this, along with a larger attack against other elements