From the very first days of the war the USSR capital had been preparing to defense.
Institutions and plants, embassies and ministries were evacuated. In order to organize the defense of Moscow and stifle the fascist offensive, Marshal Zhukov was called from Leningrad to Moscow.
According to the plan of German Operation Typhoon, all power of Army Group Center thrust was directed towards Moscow. Zhukov needed reserve and time, but he had none of them. And the German troops were being reinforced again and again.
The usual autumn rains started, negatively affecting actions of both armies. On 17th October 1941 a state of siege was declared in Moscow, and the implications of the motto "Not a step back!" became extremely severe.
On 7th of October, an anniversary of the Soviet October Revolution, a military parade was held on the Red Square in Moscow, and the participating troops went directly to the front line after it. And fierce resistance of the Red Army troops along all axes made at last the German Command acknowledge the plan to encircle Moscow impossible.
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