Chevalier's blood affair. Michelle onlooker - the Chevalier's blood work Approach for the ages

Historical experience convincingly demonstrates that for the successful performance of command personnel in training, educating subordinates and commanding troops in a combat situation, a fusion of military science and military art is necessary. But is it always possible to combine them in practice?

After the war, the political leadership of the country and, above all, the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the USSR Armed Forces, Joseph Stalin, recognized: “The best, the most important thing that we achieved in the Great Patriotic War is our army, our personnel. In this war we received a modern army and this is more important than many other acquisitions.”

Pre-war complacency

Indeed, our power defeated the strongest opponents in the west and east, liberated the occupied territories and many states of Europe and Asia, returned Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands, and the country’s international authority increased sharply. This did not happen in the Fatherland. However, Stalin emphasized the most important thing: the most important thing is the modern army that has gone through the crucible of battles and the military personnel tempered in them. The victory was achieved by the fusion of efforts of the entire Soviet people, front and rear. But to be or not to be for the Fatherland was decided on the battlefields, where the main role was played by soldiers and, above all, by officers.

By the end of World War II, our army was such a harmonious organism that no one in Europe could resist it. In this regard, one of the most profound questions arises: how did the army of 1941, which suffered grave setbacks and retreated to Moscow, differ from the army of 1945, which confidently and brilliantly ended the war?

The soldiers and officers in 1941 were formally even better (in terms of age, physical characteristics, general military literacy and education), the quality of weapons changed, but not significantly, there was no particular breakdown of the organizational structure, the military command system, except in the Air Force and during the organization of Headquarters VGK. The potential of the Red Army, its combat readiness at the beginning of the war was higher than its combat readiness to repel enemy aggression. Miscalculations by the political leadership and the top military command led to the fact that by the time of the German attack the troops were not in full combat readiness, their operational deployment had not been completed, and the first echelon divisions for the most part did not occupy the designated defense lines. Therefore, they found themselves in a difficult situation, unable to fully realize their potential. Already at the beginning of the campaign, the bulk of the regular army was lost, and it had to be rebuilt in a hurry. All the more significant is the qualitative leap in combat effectiveness during the war.

How was the winning army born? Radical, qualitative changes occurred primarily in society itself and the Armed Forces. The war shook up all segments of the population, military and civilian, and forced them to look at the fate of the country and the defense of the Fatherland with new eyes.
The trials forced everyone - from the Supreme Commander-in-Chief to the soldier - to get rid of peacetime complacency, mobilize to the limit, and hone their managerial and combat skills. In battle, formalism and mistakes were not forgiven; the situation severely punished any omissions in reconnaissance, fire defeat, or supply of troops. The war pushed aside the far-fetched, lifeless, all the articulations of partocrats and officials like Mehlis. In particular, it clearly became clear that, to a certain extent, both control and oversight from above are needed, but effective management cannot exist without trust in people.

Continuous and intense combat operations enriched them with combat experience, tempered military personnel, made them more resilient, wiser and self-confident, and forced them to master the secrets of military art that were still incomprehensible in 1941. At the beginning of the war, there was no commander who, in theory, did not know about the need to concentrate the main efforts on decisive directions, the importance of conducting continuous reconnaissance, and organizing reliable fire defeat of the enemy.

But it took considerable sacrifice, effort and time until most commanders mastered these canons. With all its mercilessness, the war showed: there is a huge distance between knowledge of theory and practical mastery of the art of war. Suffice it to recall that the deep essence of the organization of strategic defense was not understood even at the very top of the staff, not only in 1941, but also in 1942. And only in 1943, in preparation for the Battle of Kursk, they managed to completely master it. There were plenty of other similar problems that had to be faced during the war. It is so difficult to reveal the mysteries of military art in practice.

The courage and selfless work of the people under the slogan “Everything for the front!” Everything for victory! reinforced the army not only with increasingly sophisticated material resources, but also with special spiritual strength. And Lend-Lease assistance brought its benefits, especially the appearance of hundreds of thousands of off-road vehicles, which made our artillery and troops more maneuverable.

In peacetime, a three- to four-day exercise is considered a big event and, as a rule, provides a lot for the training and combat coordination of formations and units. And here - four years of continuous study in combat conditions. Commanders, staffs and troops not only received practice. Before each operation, they trained repeatedly, recreating the corresponding enemy defenses on terrain similar to the one where they were to operate.

During the war, everything was adjusted and brought to perfection. For example, anyone who was at the exercises could not help but notice how much fuss there was to move the command or forward command post to a new location. In the second half of the war, the division commander, sometimes without saying a word, showed the head of the operations department the place where the command post should be. And without any special instructions, the operator, reconnaissance officer, signalman, and sapper who were pre-assigned for this purpose knew which vehicle and where to go, what to take with them, and how to prepare everything. There was such coherence in all matters and at all levels - from the Supreme Command Headquarters to the unit. All actions and functional responsibilities of each warrior were practiced until they became automatic. This ensured high organization, mutual understanding and coherence of management.

Of course, in peacetime it is impossible to constantly conduct combat training with such tension. But internal mobilization and responsibility for fulfilling military duty should permeate a military person in any position.

Admiral Makarov constantly told his subordinates: “Remember the war,” but when he got into it, in the very first real battle with the Japanese he destroyed himself and part of the fleet. What is needed, it turns out, is knowledge (military science) and the ability to put this knowledge into practice (military art).

Without receiving combat practice for a long time, any army gradually “sours”, its mechanisms begin to rust. In the second half of the 1930s, Germany constantly “tested” its army in various types of military actions and campaigns. Before the attack on the USSR, the Wehrmacht participated in hostilities for two years. One of the underlying motives of the Soviet-Finnish War was also the desire to test the army in action. Many armed conflicts started by the United States were aimed at giving command and control agencies and troops combat practice and testing new models of weapons and military equipment.

Weak link

In order for the army to be ready in peacetime, it is necessary to conduct exercises and training not only with formations and units, but also with control bodies at the strategic and operational level. Before the war, it was believed that the commander of a company or battalion must systematically train in command and control with units, but this is not necessary at the strategic level; as a result, it turned out to be the least prepared to solve the assigned tasks.

This conclusion is confirmed by the latest scientific research. For example, program-target planning, like a systematic approach in general, is based on the fact that the whole is greater than the sum of its component parts. A holistic system has properties that do not follow directly from the properties of its parts, but can be identified by analyzing their totality, internal connections and the results of the interaction of the parts with each other. This, in fact, is the difference between a comprehensive approach, which allows us to consider only a simple sum of elements, and a systematic one. Thus, with the program-target method of planning military development, we operate with the combat potential of formations and units. But depending on the rationality of the organizational structure and management system, and especially at the highest echelons, the total combat potential of the Armed Forces may be less (as in 1941), and significantly greater than the simple sum of the combat potentials of the formations and units that make up the formations and the Armed Forces as a whole (like in 1945).

In light of this, it is all the more important, even in peacetime, to treat every activity and exercise extremely responsibly, and to bring them as close as possible to combat conditions. In the post-war years, especially under the Minister of Defense Marshal Zhukov, there was a very strict attitude towards the preparation and conduct of exercises. After each, a ministerial order was issued based on its results. Officers who failed to fulfill their tasks were often removed from office or disciplined. Back then they still remembered how hard it was to pay in battle for the slightest omissions, and it was considered a great sin not to stop them. This is the main meaning of the systematic alarms and exercises that have been carried out recently on the orders of the Russian Minister of Defense, Army General Sergei Shoigu.

Two episodes told by Ivan Konev are typical. Before the war, commanding the troops of the North Caucasus Military District, he conducted a command and staff exercise with the 19th Army. At this time he was called to the government telephone, and for his late arrival he received a serious reprimand. After the war, a similar incident occurred, but Moscow’s reaction was completely different. The Commander-in-Chief of the Ground Forces, Konev, then led the Commander-in-Chief with the Transcaucasian Military District. At that moment the head of the Moscow Region called. The operational duty officer reported that Marshal Konev was on a training exercise. The Minister of Defense said: “Okay, don’t take Comrade Konev away from this important matter, let him call me when he has the opportunity.”

This is how severe trials taught and changed people, including their attitude to combat training. In this regard, one has to think: is another war really necessary so that leaders at all levels again understand the role and importance of officer cadres in the life of the state and that the main purpose of the army, and military people in general, is constant preparation for combat missions. If this is not the case, the army loses its meaning. It is no coincidence that it is generally accepted that war for a career officer is an exam that is unknown when it will take place, but one must prepare for it all his life.

Of course, mortal battles with the enemy improved the combat training of not only our troops, but also the enemy, whose combat effectiveness had significantly decreased by the end of the war. The opposing sides adopted the experience of others. And in this process, the decisive role was played by factors such as just goals of the war, the conquest of strategic initiative and air supremacy, and, in general, the advantage of Soviet military science and military art. For example, our army developed a more advanced fire system in the form of artillery and air attacks. The German divisions had approximately one and a half times more guns. But the presence of a powerful artillery reserve of the Supreme High Command and its maneuver to decisive sectors of the front led to the fact that up to 55–60 percent of our artillery was constantly involved in active combat operations, while in the German troops it was only about 40 percent.

The anti-tank and air defense system, which originated in the battle of Moscow, was already brought to perfection near Kursk. The German command usually disbanded divisions that suffered heavy losses and created new ones, which made it difficult to put them together. We often retained and conducted combat operations with divisions of three to five thousand people. Therefore, there were more corresponding formations and associations than the Germans. But while maintaining a core of experienced officers at the divisional (regimental) level, and in the second half of the war at the battalion level, it was easier to staff these divisions and include replacements in the ranks.

Such organizational and operational-tactical techniques, which increased the combat power of the army, made our military art more effective.

During the Great Patriotic War, the Soviet command attached great importance to the timely generalization and delivery of combat experience to the troops. The Supreme Command Headquarters, the General Staff, the Main Political Directorate, the People's Commissariat of the Navy, the command and headquarters of the armed forces and branches of the armed forces, formations and formations were not only bodies of practical leadership, but also the main centers of military theoretical thought. Management of operations is unthinkable without creative work in preparing informed decisions, developing charters, instructions and orders that summarize all that is advanced. During the war, a Directorate for the Use of War Experience was created at the General Staff, and departments and divisions were created at the headquarters of the fronts and armies, respectively. The rich combat experience of the Soviet army was reflected in the developed and constantly updated regulations, manuals and instructions. For example, in 1944, the Field and Combat Manuals of the Infantry, “Guide to Crossing Rivers,” “Guide to Troop Operations in the Mountains,” “Manual on Breaking Through Positional Defense,” etc. were developed and revised. In total, in 1943–1944, revised and developed again 30 charters, manuals and instructions related to maintaining databases and training troops.

What is noteworthy is the specificity and subject matter of military scientific research, and its strict subordination to the interests of successfully conducting armed struggle on the fronts. At the same time, the German army, despite the significant discrepancy between pre-war regulations and combat experience, especially after the attack on the USSR, did not rework any of them, although it fought for six years. Based on captured captured documents and the testimony of captured officers, it was established that the analysis and synthesis of combat experience ended with the publication of separate memos and directives. Many fascist generals in their memoirs cite one of the reasons for the defeat as the fact that they fought in the east according to the same patterns as in the west.

Thus, the war once again confirmed that a well-developed theory in itself is of little use if it is not mastered by cadres. In addition, developed operational-strategic thinking, organizational and strong-willed qualities are required, without which it is impossible to demonstrate a high level of military art.

Check according to Simonov

But everything that has been said does not fully answer the question: how did the phenomenon of an all-destroying victorious army appear at the end of the war? This is worth thinking about thoroughly, especially when all sorts of reorganizations and reforms are being started. The main lesson is that externally effective transformations, if they touch only the surface of military life and do not affect the internal springs of the functioning of the army body, do not change the essence of the existing system, and do little to improve the quality of combat capability and combat readiness of the Armed Forces.

During the war, great importance was attached to the training of a combined arms commander capable of uniting in his hands the efforts of all branches of the military. Of course, these days, combined arms schools no longer train infantrymen - cadets master tanks, artillery, and engineering, but the problem, for example, of smooth interaction with aviation in combined arms combat remains not fully resolved today. And the development of solid practical skills among officers in command and control of troops (forces) lags behind what the modern situation requires.

There are other problems too. The issues of mastering by officers the military heritage of outstanding commanders, generalizing and studying combat experience do not lose importance. Including a lot of work in studying the experience of the Afghan and Chechen wars, military operations in Syria, and other local conflicts of the post-war period. How to study and describe experience? Do not get carried away with praise, critically analyze operations. Actions will speak for themselves. Keep sycophants away from this work. The last wish was the most difficult to take root in military-historical work, and not only in Soviet times. Lies and falsification of the history of the war, discrediting the Great Victory have become commonplace in the liberal press and on television. This is not surprising: the task has been set to humiliate the dignity of Russia, including its history, and these people are regularly working off their grants. But the press, which considers itself part of the patriotic cohort, does not always take a principled position.

In recent years, many books about war have appeared. Formally, pluralism is seemingly limitless. But anti-Russian writings are published and distributed in huge numbers, and the possibilities for truthful, honest books are extremely limited.

Any historical events or personalities must be studied in all their contradictory complexity by the standards of 1941 and 1945. As Konstantin Simonov wrote in “Winter of 1941”:

Not to defame anyone,
And to get to the bottom,
Winter of forty-one
We have been given a true measure.
Perhaps it is still useful,
Without letting go of the memory,
That yardstick, straight and iron,
Check on someone suddenly.

The experience of the Great Patriotic War, local wars in which the older generation of soldiers participated, must be studied and mastered purely critically, creatively, taking into account modern conditions, objectively revealing the mistakes of the past. Without this, it is impossible to learn the proper lessons needed for the army today and tomorrow.

In general, the demand for new ideas, achievements of military science and their implementation in practical activities is one of the main lessons from the past and the most pressing problem of our time. Our military press still has an important role to play in this matter. After the Great Patriotic War, many military leaders and historians lamented the fact that we had incorrectly foreseen its initial period. But in 1940, based on the experience of the outbreak of World War II, G. Isserson wrote the book “New Forms of Struggle,” where he convincingly showed that this period would not be the same as in 1914. There have been other similar studies. However, these ideas were not noticed or accepted.

How can I prevent this from happening again? Nowadays, it is especially important for leaders not only to be closer to science, but also to stand at the head of scientific research, to be more accessible to communicate with people, military scientists, and not to rush to reject new ideas. At one time, Mikhail Frunze’s military reform program was discussed by the entire Red Army. And in our time we need a broader intellectual front. Only on such a sound, vital basis can it be possible to create a military ideology and doctrine designed for the future, which must not only be developed and implemented from above, but also accepted by all personnel and consciously put into practice as their vital cause.

In peacetime, in order to develop the necessary qualities in officers, it is necessary to create conditions in all classes, exercises, and in the process of combat and operational training when it is necessary to make decisions in a complex, contradictory environment.

After the war, front-line command and staff exercises were held in the Far East. After General Vasily Margelov reported on the decision to land an airborne force on one of the islands, he was asked the question: how long will it take to re-land in another area? General Margelov was silent for a long time and then answered with a sigh: “In 1941, we already landed one airborne assault force in the Vyazma area, it is still being assembled...” There were no more questions. Both the subordinate and the senior boss should fully understand the complexity of the upcoming task.

Chernyakhovsky School

Speaking about the methods of work of the command and staff, I would like to draw attention to such unnecessary formalism as lengthy reports assessing the situation and proposals, hearing decisions and instructions on interaction and support of operations. As a rule, they contain a lot of general theory, but little that relates to a specific case.

Thus, in the methodological development of one of the academies for moral and psychological support of combat, the castle for working with personnel two hours before the battle reports the following proposals to the regiment commander: “The tasks of moral and psychological support for offensive combat are to determine the actualization of patriotic feelings and loyalty to military duty among personnel , desire to defend the interests of the Russian people and defeat the aggressor... creating conditions for maintaining positive emotional states... for a regimental artillery group - updating the readiness of personnel to effectively support the advancing troops...", etc. Now imagine that You are the commander of a regiment and before entering it into battle you are asked to “optimize” and “update” the readiness of your personnel. How should you accept and implement all this? Or, let’s say, what’s the point when the communications chief sits and writes draft instructions that the chief of staff should give him. They say: “That’s how it’s supposed to be.”

Unfortunately, in some of our statutory documents the main focus is not on recommendations for how the commander and staff should work rationally to organize the battle, but on outlining the structure and approximate content of the relevant documents. Thus, we are not training a commander or head of a branch of the military - the organizer of a battle, but, at best, a staff officer who knows how to stamp documents. Not only during the Great Patriotic War, but also in Afghanistan or Chechnya, there was no such thing as a group of generals and officers going to the front line and giving orders for hours in front of the enemy - this is simply impossible.

With such formal bureaucratic methods of work of the command and staff, when management activities and the actions of the troops are separated, the management process is emasculated, deadened, and ultimately the set goal is not achieved.

Therefore, modern officers should take a close look at how Georgy Zhukov, Konstantin Rokossovsky, Ivan Chernyakhovsky, Pavel Batov, Nikolai Krylov acted in a combat situation. That is, we should not abandon the experience of the Great Patriotic War; in a number of issues we need to understand it more deeply, and then move on.

For example, one of the strengths of commander Chernyakhovsky was his efficiency, specificity and ability to carefully prepare an operation, organize interaction, all types of operational, logistical, technical support, and ensure that commanders and personnel mastered and sequenced the execution of tasks. After making a decision and communicating the tasks to his subordinates, he focused entirely on this work.

All the activities of the officers were so subordinated to the implementation of the plan of operations, organically fused with the subtlest features of the situation, and the methods of organizing combat operations were so specific and objective that in this entire creative process there was no place left for formalism, abstract talk and empty theorizing. Only what was needed for the upcoming battle and operation was done.

Commanders with front-line experience especially clearly understood that the main conditions decisive for a successful breakthrough of the defense were thorough reconnaissance of the enemy’s defense system and fire weapons, and the precise targeting of artillery and aviation at identified targets. From an analysis of combat practice, it is obvious that if these two tasks - reconnaissance and fire destruction - were carried out accurately and reliably, then even with a not very organized attack, a successful advance of troops was achieved. This, of course, is not about any underestimation of the need for effective action by infantry, tanks and other types of troops. Without this, it is impossible to fully use the results of fire defeat of the enemy. But it is also true that no harmonious and beautiful attack will overcome the enemy’s resistance if his firepower is not suppressed. This is important in any war and especially in local conflicts and anti-terrorist operations.

An approach for the ages

This is not about imposing the experience of the last war on the army. Everyone understands that the content of military training should be focused on future achievements of military art. But the approach to solving operational-tactical problems, the broad creativity and methods of organization that were displayed in this case, the thoroughness and painstaking practice of all preparatory measures with subordinates, the ability to train troops exactly what may be required of them in a combat situation, and much more cannot become obsolete. another, defining the entire spirit of military art, in which there are, if not eternal, then very long-living principles and provisions.

The experience of any war cannot become completely obsolete, unless, of course, it is viewed not as an object of copying and blind imitation, but as a clot of military wisdom, which integrates everything positive and negative that happened, and the resulting patterns of development. More than once in history, after a major or even local conflict, they tried to present the matter in such a way that nothing remained of the previous art of war. But the next army, giving rise to new methods of conducting armed struggle, also retained many of the old ones. At least so far there has not yet been such a strife that would undo everything that was previously developed in the art of war.

For use in the future, we need not just past experience, not what lies on the surface, but those deep, sometimes hidden, stable processes and phenomena that have tendencies for further development, sometimes manifesting themselves in new, completely different forms than in the previous one. war. At the same time, it should be taken into account that each subsequent one retains less and less elements of the old and increasingly generates new methods and schemes. Therefore, a critical, at the same time creative approach to the lessons of any war, including the Afghan, Chechen or operations in Syria, where the experience of the Great Patriotic War was used to a certain extent (especially in the substantive preparation of units for each battle, taking into account the upcoming task), was Many new techniques for conducting combat operations have been developed.

The art of war begins where, on the one hand, deep theoretical knowledge and its creative application help the commander to better see the general connection of occurring phenomena and more confidently navigate the situation. And where, on the other hand, the commander, without constraining himself by a general theoretical scheme, strives to delve deeper into the essence of the real situation, evaluate its advantageous and disadvantageous features and, based on this, find original solutions and moves that best lead to the solution of the assigned combat mission.

The computer is not a commander

The maximum degree of compliance of the decisions and actions of commanders, commanders and troops with the specific conditions of the situation makes itself felt throughout history with such a stable pattern, since this is precisely what expresses the main essence of military art, which determines the most significant and stable connections, the relationship between objective and subjective factors , internal driving forces and the main reasons for victories and defeats. This is the basic law of military art. Its biggest enemies are template and schematism. We began to forget this truth after the war. But understanding of this needs to be restored.

In the magazine “Military Thought” (No. 9, 2017), V. Makhonin, one of the authors, writes that the terms “military art” and “operational art” are incorrect from a scientific point of view. By keeping them in circulation, we allegedly demonstrate scientific backwardness. He suggests saying “the theory of warfare.”

The author believes: if it were possible to teach the art of war, then all graduates of universities where there is an appropriate department would become outstanding commanders. However, there are only a few of them in our country; there are dozens in the world, although millions are trained in military affairs. But this is true in any case. Many people also study mathematics and music, but only a few become Einsteins or Tchaikovskys. This means that we must not abandon the term “art of war,” but think together about how best to master this most complex matter.

The Great Patriotic War and other wars are a rich treasury of combat experience. Turning to it, each time we find valuable grains of something new, which give rise to deep thoughts and lead to conclusions of great theoretical and practical significance.

In the future, when operations and combat operations will be distinguished by increased scope, the participation in them of various types of armed forces and combat arms, equipped with sophisticated equipment, high dynamism and maneuverability in the absence of continuous fronts, remote destruction, in conditions of sharp and rapid changes in the situation, fierce struggle for seizing and maintaining the initiative and strong electronic countermeasures, command and control of troops and naval forces will become significantly more difficult. With the high speeds of missiles, aviation, and increased mobility of troops, especially in the system of strategic nuclear forces, air defense, and air forces, combat management activities will increasingly be aimed at the implementation of pre-developed solutions, programming and modeling of upcoming battles. A high level of operational planning will be the main prerequisite for successful command and control.

As has already been said, automation and computerization of management require improvement not only of the organizational structure of management, but of the forms and methods of work of the command and staff. In particular, the latest achievements of science indicate that the system as a whole can be effective only if it develops not only vertically, but also horizontally. This means, in particular, while generally observing the principle of unity of command, a comprehensive expansion of the scope of work, granting greater rights to headquarters, heads of military branches and services. They must resolve many issues independently, coordinating them with the combined arms headquarters and among themselves, since with extremely limited time and rapid developments of events, the commander is no longer able to personally consider and resolve all, even the most important issues of preparing and conducting an operation, as was the case in the past . Greater initiative and independence is required at all levels. But these qualities need to be developed in peacetime, they need to be included in general military regulations.
Therefore, it is so important to anticipate changes in the nature of the armed struggle, new requirements, and taking into account precisely these objective factors, and not hidden considerations, to determine the organizational structure, rights and tasks of governing bodies, decisively getting rid of the negative manifestations of the past and making the most of the modern experience accumulated in Russia, USA, China and the armed forces of other countries. Based on the practice of anti-terrorist operations, local conflicts, and emerging common threats, it cannot be ruled out that our armies will have to cooperate and jointly solve military problems in the future. In Syria, for example, this is already making itself felt. This means that a certain compatibility of countries' military command and control systems is required. That is why it is very important not to oppose or absolutize control systems, but to improve them taking into account mutual experience and prospects for the development of the nature of armed struggle.

Recently, with American technological superiority over obviously weak opponents, the shine of military art is dimming, a disinformation campaign has been launched, claiming that traditional Russian, German, French military schools, based on the rich experience of major wars and the ideas of advanced military thinkers of their time (Suvorova, Milutina , Dragomirov, Brusilov, Frunze, Tukhachevsky, Svechin, Zhukov, Vasilevsky or Scharnhorst, Moltke, Ludendorff, Foch, Keitel, Rundstedt, Manstein, Guderian), have outlived their usefulness. Now, according to apologists for virtual and asymmetric wars, all this must be buried. Some media claim that the personal qualities of a commander capable of demonstrating military skill, courage, fearlessness and bravery have now faded into the background, headquarters and computers are developing a strategy, technology ensures mobility and onslaught... The USA, having done without brilliant commanders, won geopolitical battle in Europe, established a de facto protectorate over the Balkans.

However, it will be impossible to manage without commanders, military specialists, without their mental activity and skills for a long time. In the headquarters, after all, there are not only computers and the personnel serving them. But overly addicted people want to quickly part with everything that happened in the past. In this regard, there are calls to focus on the ever-rising American school as the only possible one in the future. You can really learn a lot from the United States, especially in creating favorable political conditions for waging war, in the field of high technology. But disregard for the national experience of other armies and the adjustment of all countries to NATO standards over time can lead to the degradation of military affairs. Cooperation, including with NATO members, can be beneficial if it goes through the exchange and mutual enrichment of experience, rather than imposing or blindly copying the standards of just one army without taking into account national traditions and characteristics.

Modern wars are now closely intertwined with non-military means and forms of confrontation. They also influence the methods of warfare. This aspect of the matter also needs to be more deeply taken into account and mastered.

Russian President Vladimir Putin emphasized in one of his speeches that we must protect our country from any forms of military-political pressure and potential external aggression. In Syria, for example, it has turned out that various states are simultaneously participating in military operations there, pursuing their own goals. All this extremely aggravates the political and military situation. In order to remain at the height of our mission, it is our duty to be ready to carry out these tasks to ensure the defense security of the Fatherland in a broader sense.

The method of replacing blood with a rejuvenating decoction was described in Ovid’s Metamorphoses, but even then hardly anyone perceived it as anything other than a fairy tale. Both in ancient and more enlightened times, doctors thought more not about magical blood substitutes, but about saving the wounded and women in labor and tried to develop a way to safely transfuse blood.

Such attempts most often ended in failure - until 1901, when the Austrian immunologist Karl Landsteiner discovered the existence of blood groups (in 1930 he received the Nobel Prize for this). And after in 1914, the Russian doctor Vadim Yurevich (and at the same time his Belgian and American colleagues) proposed preserving blood with a solution of sodium citrate, blood transfusion became an ordinary medical procedure.

With the development of transfusiology, the problem of blood substitutes has become urgent. It's not even a question of a shortage of donor blood - now it exists only in poor countries. In Russia there is no shortage as such, and moments of some tension (as a rule, in cases of terrorist attacks or natural disasters) arise not because of a lack of donors, but because of poor organization of blood procurement.

Sometimes clinics do not have enough blood of certain types. However, in critical cases, all patients with the same Rh factor can be transfused with blood of group I (0) (its carriers are called “universal donors”). Patients with the rare group IV(AB) - “universal recipients” - can be transfused with blood of any group.

The sword of Damocles for both doctors and patients is the possibility of transmitting infectious diseases with donated blood. But this problem also concerns mostly developing countries, where tests are still not always carried out even for HIV or hepatitis B and C viruses.

Blood groups

The blood type is determined by the glycoproteins contained in the membrane of red blood cells - protein-carbohydrate complexes - A and B (they are called agglutinogens, from the word agglutination - clumping). There may be two types of antibodies to these antigens in the blood plasma - agglutinins, a (anti-A) and I (anti-B). When the interaction of the same agglutinogens and agglutinins (A and a, B and I) occurs, gluing (hemagglutination) and destruction of red blood cells occur. The figure on the right shows four blood groups - combinations of the presence or absence of these four factors in plasma and red blood cells. When transfusing blood, the Rh factor must also be taken into account. The combinations of proteins and antibodies that determine it are much more complex, but the result is simpler: 85 percent of people (those with positive Rh, Rh+) ​​have a specific protein in their red blood cells, the rest (with negative Rh, Rh-) do not. But the blood type diet is pure quackery. True, there is almost no harm from this (not counting the costs of “research”). There may even be some benefit: having received a list of meaningless prohibitions like “instead of turkey - chicken +, asparagus - lettuce +” on eight sheets with a hologram, you can’t help but think - isn’t it time to stop eating sandwiches on the run and eat three times a day?

In Russia, all donated blood undergoes mandatory testing for HIV, hepatitis B and C, and syphilis (although the pale spirochete dies very quickly outside the body and it is impossible to become infected with syphilis through a transfusion of canned blood). Of course, this is far from the ultimate dream.

In the USA, for example, an analysis is also carried out for antibodies to human T-lymphotropic viruses of types I and II and PCR analysis of nucleic acids for latent infection with human immunodeficiency viruses, hepatitis C and West Nile fever. In our country, studies for the presence of lymphotropic virus and West Nile encephalitis virus in the blood are not carried out, since these infections, fortunately, are not common in our country. Unfortunately, testing for nucleic acids of other viruses is also not mandatory in Russia, but its implementation is included in the development plans of the transfusion industry for the near future.

To improve the safety of blood products in rich countries, various methods of virus inactivation are used, such as treatment with detergents (polysorbitol, Triton X100, sodium thiocyanate), pasteurization and other heating modes, ultra- and nanofiltration. The most universal method for purifying plasma is the latter method, in which the molecules of serum proteins, without being deformed, pass through special filters that retain not only viruses, but also prions, which are considered the cause of the development of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease - the human analogue of the notorious “mad cow disease”. In Russia, methods of viral inactivation are also gradually beginning to be introduced into practice.

For now, unfortunately, the 100% absence of viruses in donor blood cannot be guaranteed, since it is impossible to detect the presence of the virus using immunological methods immediately after infection. However, the likelihood of such an infection is very low. According to statistics, the probability of contracting HIV infection through a blood transfusion today is approximately one chance in a million.

Blood composition

Approximately 50% of the five liters of blood circulating in the average human body are made up of cells: red blood cells (erythrocytes), white blood cells (leukocytes) and platelets (platelets). Red blood cells are responsible for supplying tissues with oxygen, white blood cells are responsible for protecting the body from infectious pathogens and other foreign objects penetrating into it, and platelets are for blood clotting and stopping bleeding.

Blood plasma contains water and organic and mineral compounds dissolved in it: proteins - including albumins, globulins (including antibodies - immunoglobulins), fibrinogen and other proteins of the blood coagulation system, as well as nutrients (in particular, glucose and fats) , hormones, vitamins, enzymes, metabolic products and inorganic ions.

Another problem is the limited shelf life of blood components. Red blood cells are stored at -4°C for up to 35 days with 70% viability, platelets - only five days. Frozen blood plasma has the longest shelf life (2 years). There is a method for deep freezing blood cells and storing them for a long time in liquid nitrogen at a temperature of -196°C, which theoretically can be used to create banks where biomaterial of everyone would be stored. However, this is not economically feasible and is recommended for preserving one’s own blood only in cases of threat of massive blood loss.

Ideal substitute

It is impossible to completely imitate all the properties of blood, therefore there is no blood substitute in the full sense of the word and, most likely, there will not be.

The portrait of an ideal blood substitute looks something like this: it is non-toxic; does not cause immune or other adverse reactions; has a viscosity similar to blood; has buffering properties, that is, it maintains a constant level of blood acidity; is able to circulate in the body for a long time without losing its properties; does not interact with plasma components and cells; stored at room temperature; has a long shelf life; inexpensive, and most importantly, it transports and releases oxygen and carbon dioxide like hemoglobin.

The first mortal danger with massive blood loss is a drop in blood pressure: so little fluid remains in the vessels that the heart is unable to pump it. The lack of fluid can be replenished with ordinary saline (0.9% NaCl), replacing up to 30% of the blood. This will normalize the pressure for a couple of hours, but will subsequently cause tissue swelling. Colloidal blood substitutes based on gelatin, hydroxyethyl starch, dextran (a polymer of glucose synthesized by some bacteria) or polyethylene glycol can help avoid swelling.

To restore blood volume, donor plasma or human serum albumin solution can be transfused. However, they are expensive, cause a number of adverse reactions and do not exclude the transfer of viruses and prions.

The second possible cause of death due to blood loss may be insufficient oxygen supply to tissues. In this case, it is necessary to introduce red blood cells or oxygen-carrying substitutes. Red blood cells have all the typical disadvantages of donor blood: the possibility of lack of the drug of the required group, the possibility of infection and adverse reactions that often develop even when cells of the desired group are transfused.

The development of synthetic oxygen-carrying blood substitutes is carried out in two directions: solutions of modified hemoglobin and perfluorocarbon emulsions. These substances do not require selection according to group, Rh factor and other tissue compatibility systems, do not tolerate infections, have a long shelf life, they can be accumulated in large quantities and used immediately. They fall short of the ideal only in terms of price and time of existence in the body: donor red blood cells circulate in the recipient’s blood for up to three months, and synthetic ones - no more than a day. But they carry oxygen no worse than whole blood.

Such drugs are especially necessary in emergency situations: a set of packages with precious and perishable red blood cells of different groups cannot be carried in an ambulance just in case. And even when the victim is taken to the hospital, it is better to start transfusion with a blood substitute as soon as possible, and only then administer plasma or red blood cells.

In the spring of 2007, an international group of researchers led by Dane Henrik Clausen developed a way to remove antigens A and B from the surface of red blood cells. For this, highly effective enzymes isolated from bacteria are used Elizabethkingia meningosepticum And Bacteroides fragilis. This does not solve the problem of antibodies in blood plasma, but red blood cells purified from antigens will be suitable for transfusion to recipients with any group.

Due to their small size, perfluorocarbon particles and hemoglobin molecules can deliver oxygen to tissue cells even through narrowed capillaries. This is especially important in case of brain injuries, heart attacks and strokes, when the blood supply to tissues is disrupted, and every preserved cell is priceless. Oxygen-carrying blood substitutes are suitable for saving donor blood during planned operations, and for preserving organs and tissues in transplantology, and even in cases where the patient refuses a transfusion of blood and its components for religious reasons.

Blue blood

In the mid-1960s, scientists tried to use the ability of perfluorocarbons to dissolve up to 50 volume percent oxygen and up to 190 volume percent carbon dioxide to create liquid breathing mixtures. But they received practical application as the basis for blood substitutes.

Japanese and American scientists were actively involved in work in this direction, but after the introduction of experimental drugs, animals often died from blockage of blood vessels. The reason was the relatively large (even in second-generation drugs - about 0.2 microns) droplet size of perfluorocarbons, which stuck together into even larger structures, which led to blockage of small vessels.

The Russian drug Perftoran, developed in the 1970-1980s at the Institute of Biophysics of the USSR Academy of Sciences under the leadership of Felix Fedorovich Beloyartsev, which was called “blue blood” because of its bluish color, is devoid of this drawback. The size of the particles included in its composition is 0.04-0.07 microns (the diameter of an erythrocyte is 7 microns). The ability of small particles of the emulsion to penetrate through compressed capillaries and thus restore blood microcirculation makes it possible to break the vicious circle of functional disorders associated with impaired blood supply to tissues. When there is a lack of oxygen, cells switch from glucose oxidation to a backup energy supply route - glycolysis, the breakdown of glucose into lactic acid. When the environment becomes acidic, the capillaries shrink even more, and even less oxygen enters... Perfluorocarbon particles, which smuggle oxygen to the cells, are able to reverse this process.

Tests of Perftoran on animals, and then in the clinic, demonstrated its exceptional effectiveness. With the help of the then experimental drug, it was possible to save several patients who were considered absolutely hopeless and more than a dozen seriously wounded soldiers in Afghanistan. Perftoran turned out to be not only an excellent blood substitute, but also an effective means for relieving fatal cerebral edema that develops during traumatic brain injuries, for preventing fat embolism - blockage of blood vessels by droplets of fat that enter there from the bone marrow during severe injuries and wounds, as well as for transportation intended for organ transplantation.

Unfortunately, behind-the-scenes games, the struggle for titles and money, as well as the ambitions of certain influential personalities led to the suicide of Professor Beloyartsev, who could not withstand pressure from the KGB, and temporarily suspended work on Perftoran (the details of this sensational dirty story can be found in Simon Shnol’s book “ Heroes and villains of Soviet science"). However, after some time, Beloyartsev’s followers continued the work he had begun, and now in the town of Pushchino near Moscow, the world’s only and truly excellent blood substitute is produced. American Oxygent and Japanese Fluosol-DA were inferior to Perftoran in all respects and are currently not produced.

Natural hemoglobin

Free hemoglobin as an oxygen carrier has a number of advantages over whole red blood cells from donor blood. It does not cause an immune response, which eliminates the need to select a drug for compatibility, provides better oxygen delivery to tissues due to the small size of the molecules, and can be stored frozen for 2-3 years without loss of activity.

The first attempts to transfuse hemoglobin solutions led to the development of severe renal failure, which was caused, as it turned out later, by the presence of fragments of cell membranes in the preparations. In 1970, for the first time it was possible to obtain purified hemoglobin that was non-toxic to the kidneys.

In addition to the difficulty of purifying impurities, free hemoglobin preparations have another significant drawback. Hemoglobin is removed from the body by the kidneys within a few hours after administration, which, given the rather high cost, makes its use economically unfeasible. An alternative is to use cattle hemoglobin, the characteristics of which are even better in some respects than those of humans, but it can become a source of causative agents of spongiform encephalopathy - the Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease mentioned above.

To improve the characteristics of hemoglobin solutions, various methods can be used to stabilize its molecules: polymerization, cross-linking of molecules into dimers, combination with large molecules, and packaging in liposomes.

The Russian drug Gelenpol, based on polymerized hemoglobin from donor blood, successfully passed clinical trials and received a state license in 1998, but its industrial production is still a matter of the future. The one developed by an American company is at approximately the same stage. Biopure a drug Hemopure from polymerized bovine hemoglobin. Their price is much higher than that of donor blood, and their activity in the body lasts less than a day, which significantly reduces the rationality of their use (Perftoran “works” about twice as long).

The sum of the parts is greater than the whole

Transfusing whole blood is not only unnecessary, but also a dangerous luxury. Blood is a complex system of cells and proteins that, when transfused, trigger a response from the patient's immune system. Today, transfusiologists have practically abandoned whole blood transfusions and switched to the use of individual blood components. For several decades now, donor blood has been separated by centrifugation into 3-4 components: plasma, from which various proteins (clotting factors, albumin and gamma globulin), red blood cells and platelets, and, if necessary, leukocytes are isolated. With anemia, the body needs only whole red blood cells, with leukemia - mainly platelets, with hemophilia - protein blood clotting factors isolated from plasma. Red blood cells are transfused in case of massive blood loss (for an adult of average height - 1.5 liters or more). And for the most common indication for transfusion—blood loss after injury or surgery—plasma or artificial blood substitutes are usually sufficient.

Other versions of domestic and foreign drugs based on modified hemoglobin are at various stages of development or preclinical testing.

Other options

There are several other approaches to creating blood substitutes. For example, attempts are being made to grow blood cells from the patient's own stem cells. This option would completely remove the issues of immunological incompatibility and transmission of infections, but the process itself - at least now - is very labor-intensive and expensive. Attempts are also being made to synthesize analogues of human or very effective crocodile hemoglobin using transgenic microorganisms.

Just a decade ago this was bordering on science fiction. However, given the dizzying speed of development of biotechnology and genetic engineering, it is quite possible that in the near future a vial of donor red blood cells will cause us much more surprise than it does now - a reusable glass syringe. Why not?

Michelle Zevako

Chevalier's blood affair

An elderly man sat at the open window of a squat, unprepossessing house. The back of a carved, antique armchair served as an excellent backdrop to the courageous, stern face of a gray-haired warrior who remembered the famous battles of the times of King Francis I. The gloomy gaze of the old man did not leave the gray bulk of Montmorency Castle, raising its powerful, gloomy towers to the blue sky.

Finally, the old warrior forced himself to look away, but at the same time a heavy sigh escaped from his chest.

Where is my daughter? Where is Zhanna? - he asked the maid who was sweeping the room.

“Mademoiselle is collecting lilies of the valley in the grove,” she answered.

Oh yes! How could I forget?.. After all, it’s spring now... Everything is blooming, everything is fragrant. Nature smiles, there is a sea of ​​greenery and flowers all around. But the most beautiful flower is you, my Jeanne, my beloved, my chaste child!..

And against his will, his gaze again rushed to the majestic castle standing on the hill.

Here it is, the center of evil! - exclaimed the old man. - How I hate Montmorency, whose power crushed and destroyed me - me, Senhor de Pienna! But not so long ago everything around me belonged to me... Now I am reduced to poverty, the insatiable constable has robbed me, leaving only a tiny piece of land... Woe to me, a pathetic madman! Perhaps right now, at this very moment, the enemy is plotting against us, wanting to deprive us of this, our last refuge!..

The old man's eyes became moist, his face expressed despair and sorrow.

Then a man in black appeared in the room. The owner of the house turned deathly pale, and the one who entered silently bowed...

I guessed! - the old man whispered. - These are bailiffs from the possessions of Montmorency!

Messire de Pienne,” the man in black said coldly, “the constable has just handed me a document with which I am obliged to familiarize you.” Take a look - this is the verdict of the Paris court. Yesterday, that is, Saturday, April 25, 1553, the court found that you are not the legal owner of the lands of Margency. King Louis XII had no right to grant you this estate, and now it must be immediately returned to the gentlemen of Montmorency. Please give the house, services, meadow and forest to the true owners.

Messire de Pienne listened silently to the stranger's words. He seemed petrified, and only his terrible pallor betrayed his feelings.

But the bailiff finally fell silent; then the old nobleman began to speak, his voice breaking with emotion:

Oh, my lord Louis XII! O worthy King Francis! You are probably turning over in your graves, hearing how they humiliate a soldier who participated in forty great battles, who many times shed his blood for his sovereigns and did not spare his life for them! So now admire how the weak veteran wanders with a beggar’s bag along the roads of France!

The grief of the venerable old man threw the nobles into confusion; he hastily threw the ill-fated document on the table and flew out of the house like a bullet.

Left alone, sir de Pienne wrung his hands in despair. But only the fate of his beloved daughter scared him.

What will happen to my dear girl? She lost everything - both shelter and a piece of bread! I curse you, villain, I curse the whole vile family of Montmorency!

The grief of the unfortunate old man was deep and genuine: the court ruling meant complete disaster for his family. Once, during the time of Louis XII, he ruled all of Picardy, but now he only has the poor estate of Margency. Ruined and humiliated, de Pienne settled here, in a poor house, standing on a piece of land, surrounded on all sides by the possessions of the powerful constable. But this was also taken away from de Pienne!.. The shame of poverty awaited the old man and his young daughter!

Zhanna was barely sixteen. Slender, gentle and very graceful, with her head set proudly, she involuntarily attracted all eyes. The girl looked like a beautiful, fragile flower, on whose petals in the first rays of the sun droplets of dew shine like diamonds. This graceful creature surprisingly resembled the spring sorceress herself!

On that fateful Sunday, April 26, 1553, Jeanne ran after lunch into a chestnut forest that grew near Margency. The girl’s heart was beating desperately, and a whisper escaped her lips, revealing the confusion of the young soul:

But how can I confess! This evening I will definitely tell him... Yes, of course, I will... God, how afraid I am!.. But what happiness this is!..

And then Jeanne was suddenly torn from the ground by strong, gentle hands, and hot lips merged with her lips.

I've been waiting for you, my darling!

Oh Francois! Darling…

What's wrong with you, my dear?.. Why are you trembling so much?

The slender young handsome man again attracted Zhanna to him. He had an open, kind face and a direct, bold gaze, in which restrained dignity was visible. However, the name of the young nobleman was Francois de Montmorency! Jeanne gave her heart to the eldest son of Constable Anne de Montmorency - and her lover's father had just robbed her own father of the last crumbs of his former wealth.

The young people, hugging each other, slowly walked through the meadow, full of fragrant flowers. But Zhanna could not stop trembling and often froze in fear:

What is this?! Steps? Someone is spying on us!..

No, it was a bird that fluttered... - Francois gently reassured the girl.

Oh, my love, I'm so afraid...

Well, my dear... After all, I’m with you! Three months ago - God bless that moment - you entrusted your honor to me, and now I am your devoted protector until the end of my days. What scares you? Very soon you will become my beloved wife, and we will put an end to the feud between our families!

Yes, my beloved, of course. But even if fate does not give me more happiness, it has already given me our love. Oh, Francois, please love me! But I know, I feel, trouble awaits us...

Zhanna, dear, I love you more than life itself, and - God is my witness - there are no obstacles in the world that I will not overcome in order to marry you!

As soon as these words were spoken, someone laughed quietly in the bushes, but the young people did not notice anything: they were too absorbed in each other...

If something is bothering you, - Francois whispered tenderly, - open up to me, I love you, I am your husband before God...

Yes, yes, definitely, come to the nurse’s house at midnight today... I must tell you one very important news...

Okay, see you at midnight, my angel...

Now you need to go!

The young man hugged his beloved tightly, and their lips merged in the last kiss. But Francois reluctantly wandered away and soon disappeared into the forest, and Jeanne, frozen, still looked after him...

An elderly man sat at the open window of a squat, unprepossessing house. The back of a carved, antique armchair served as an excellent backdrop to the courageous, stern face of a gray-haired warrior who remembered the famous battles of the times of King Francis I. The gloomy gaze of the old man did not leave the gray bulk of Montmorency Castle, raising its powerful, gloomy towers to the blue sky.

Finally, the old warrior forced himself to look away, but at the same time a heavy sigh escaped from his chest.

Where is my daughter? Where is Zhanna? - he asked the maid who was sweeping the room.

“Mademoiselle is collecting lilies of the valley in the grove,” she answered.

Oh yes! How could I forget?.. After all, it’s spring now... Everything is blooming, everything is fragrant. Nature smiles, there is a sea of ​​greenery and flowers all around. But the most beautiful flower is you, my Jeanne, my beloved, my chaste child!..

And against his will, his gaze again rushed to the majestic castle standing on the hill.

Here it is, the center of evil! - exclaimed the old man. - How I hate Montmorency, whose power crushed and destroyed me - me, Senhor de Pienna! But not so long ago everything around me belonged to me... Now I am reduced to poverty, the insatiable constable has robbed me, leaving only a tiny piece of land... Woe to me, a pathetic madman! Perhaps right now, at this very moment, the enemy is plotting against us, wanting to deprive us of this, our last refuge!..

The old man's eyes became moist, his face expressed despair and sorrow.

Then a man in black appeared in the room. The owner of the house turned deathly pale, and the one who entered silently bowed...

I guessed! - the old man whispered. - These are bailiffs from the possessions of Montmorency!

Messire de Pienne,” the man in black said coldly, “the constable has just handed me a document with which I am obliged to familiarize you.” Take a look - this is the verdict of the Paris court. Yesterday, that is, Saturday, April 25, 1553, the court found that you are not the legal owner of the lands of Margency. King Louis XII had no right to grant you this estate, and now it must be immediately returned to the gentlemen of Montmorency. Please give the house, services, meadow and forest to the true owners.

Messire de Pienne listened silently to the stranger's words. He seemed petrified, and only his terrible pallor betrayed his feelings.

But the bailiff finally fell silent; then the old nobleman began to speak, his voice breaking with emotion:

Oh, my lord Louis XII! O worthy King Francis! You are probably turning over in your graves, hearing how they humiliate a soldier who participated in forty great battles, who many times shed his blood for his sovereigns and did not spare his life for them! So now admire how the weak veteran wanders with a beggar’s bag along the roads of France!

The grief of the venerable old man threw the nobles into confusion; he hastily threw the ill-fated document on the table and flew out of the house like a bullet.

Left alone, sir de Pienne wrung his hands in despair. But only the fate of his beloved daughter scared him.

What will happen to my dear girl? She lost everything - both shelter and a piece of bread! I curse you, villain, I curse the whole vile family of Montmorency!

The grief of the unfortunate old man was deep and genuine: the court ruling meant complete disaster for his family. Once, during the time of Louis XII, he ruled all of Picardy, but now he only has the poor estate of Margency. Ruined and humiliated, de Pienne settled here, in a poor house, standing on a piece of land, surrounded on all sides by the possessions of the powerful constable. But this was also taken away from de Pienne!.. The shame of poverty awaited the old man and his young daughter!

Zhanna was barely sixteen. Slender, gentle and very graceful, with her head set proudly, she involuntarily attracted all eyes. The girl looked like a beautiful, fragile flower, on whose petals in the first rays of the sun droplets of dew shine like diamonds. This graceful creature surprisingly resembled the spring sorceress herself!

On that fateful Sunday, April 26, 1553, Jeanne ran after lunch into a chestnut forest that grew near Margency. The girl’s heart was beating desperately, and a whisper escaped her lips, revealing the confusion of the young soul:

But how can I confess! This evening I will definitely tell him... Yes, of course, I will... God, how afraid I am!.. But what happiness this is!..

And then Jeanne was suddenly torn from the ground by strong, gentle hands, and hot lips merged with her lips.

I've been waiting for you, my darling!

Oh Francois! Darling…

What's wrong with you, my dear?.. Why are you trembling so much?

The slender young handsome man again attracted Zhanna to him. He had an open, kind face and a direct, bold gaze, in which restrained dignity was visible. However, the name of the young nobleman was Francois de Montmorency! Jeanne gave her heart to the eldest son of Constable Anne de Montmorency - and her lover's father had just robbed her own father of the last crumbs of his former wealth.

The young people, hugging each other, slowly walked through the meadow, full of fragrant flowers. But Zhanna could not stop trembling and often froze in fear:

What is this?! Steps? Someone is spying on us!..

No, it was a bird that fluttered... - Francois gently reassured the girl.

Oh, my love, I'm so afraid...

Well, my dear... After all, I’m with you! Three months ago - God bless that moment - you entrusted your honor to me, and now I am your devoted protector until the end of my days. What scares you? Very soon you will become my beloved wife, and we will put an end to the feud between our families!

Yes, my beloved, of course. But even if fate does not give me more happiness, it has already given me our love. Oh, Francois, please love me! But I know, I feel, trouble awaits us...

Zhanna, dear, I love you more than life itself, and - God is my witness - there are no obstacles in the world that I will not overcome in order to marry you!

As soon as these words were spoken, someone laughed quietly in the bushes, but the young people did not notice anything: they were too absorbed in each other...

If something is bothering you, - Francois whispered tenderly, - open up to me, I love you, I am your husband before God...

Yes, yes, definitely, come to the nurse’s house at midnight today... I must tell you one very important news...

Okay, see you at midnight, my angel...

Now you need to go!

The young man hugged his beloved tightly, and their lips merged in the last kiss. But Francois reluctantly wandered away and soon disappeared into the forest, and Jeanne, frozen, still looked after him...

But in the end, sighing heavily, she turned to go home too, and turned white with horror: next to her she saw a young man. He was about twenty years old, but such a young age did not fit with his angry, arrogant face and cold, merciless eyes. Zhanna screamed in fear:

Lord, Henri! It is you?!

Yes, that's me! My appearance seemed to frighten you? But can't I chat with you just like my brother?..

Jeanne trembled, and Henri, grinning, said:

You don't want to talk to me? However, your wishes no longer interest me. So, it's me, my dear! I heard almost everything and saw everything! Hugs, kisses... How I suffered because of you, Zhanna! After all, I swear to God, I confessed my love to you before Francois! So why am I worse than him?

Henri, I love and respect you,” Jeanne answered in a trembling voice, “and I will always love you as a brother... the brother of the person to whom I gave my heart... I assure you, I really have the warmest feelings for you... After all, I didn’t tell anything Francois...

Yes, you just didn’t want to worry him. No, let him know that I'm crazy about you. Then he will have to challenge me to a duel.

You're crazy, Henri! What are you saying? After all, Francois is your brother!

Francois is my rival. Everything else is nonsense. Think about it, my dear.