Mius River
After their defeat at the Battle of Stalingrad, the German military command started to strengthen its defense lines. The defense lines "Mius-Front" along the Mius River had been created under command of General Paul Ludwig Ewald von Kleist back in October 1941. By summer 1943 the Mius-Front consisted of three defense lines with a total depth of the Mius defense range of 40–50 kilometers. The defense was held by the 6th Army (Wehrmacht) under command of General Karl-Adolf Hollidt.