Donbass was one of the most industrialized regions of the Soviet Union, in which the largest enterprises of the mining, metallurgical, engineering, and chemical industries were concentrated. That is why he became one of the cherished goals of the German Wehrmacht. The Mius River became a natural obstacle that allowed the German army to hold the Donetsk region for a long time. The Mius Front is a heavily fortified, defense-in-depth defensive line created by the Germans in December 1941. The defensive line ran along the right, high bank of the river. The enemy fully used the frequent cliffs, heights, ravines and rocks characteristic of this section of the Donetsk ridge.