When the order was signed for its construction on 11 August 1943, the Wehrmacht held positions sometimes hundreds of kilometers to the east of the proposed defensive line, generally along the Donets River in the south and along a line roughly from Smolensk to Leningrad in the north. An early retreat to the line would have resulted in the loss of considerable Soviet territory and been a very complex operation if the Soviet side decided to exploit the situation during the retreat.[citation needed]