 The German government now publicly predicted the imminent capture of Moscow and convinced foreign correspondents of a pending Soviet collapse . On 13 October , the 3rd Panzer Group penetrated to within 140 km ( 87 mi ) of the capital . Martial law was declared in Moscow . Almost from the beginning of Operation Typhoon , however , the weather worsened . Temperatures fell while there was a continued rainfall . This turned the unpaved road network into mud and steadily slowed the German advance on Moscow to as little as 3 @.@ 2 km ( 2 @.@ 0 mi ) a day . At the same time , the supply situation for the Germans rapidly deteriorated . On 31 October , the German Army High Command ordered a halt to Operation Typhoon while the armies were reorganized . The pause gave the Soviets , who were in a far better supply situation , time to consolidate their positions and organize formations of newly activated reservists . In little over a month , the Soviets organized eleven new armies that included 30 divisions of Siberian troops . These had been freed from the Soviet Far East after Soviet intelligence assured Stalin that there was no longer a threat from the Japanese . Over 1 @,@ 000 tanks and 1 @,@ 000 aircraft arrived along with the Siberian forces . 
