National Defence University in Warsaw
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| National Defence University | |
|---|---|
| Akademia Obrony Narodowej | |
|
|
|
| Established: | 1765 |
| Location: | Warsaw, Poland |
| Website: | www.aon.edu.pl/ |
The National Defence University (AON, Akademia Obrony Narodowej) is the highest military university of Poland, located in Warsaw and Rembertów. It was founded in 1947 under the name of Academy of General Staff.
The National Defence University, subordinate directly to the Chief of General Staff of the Polish Army, is the alma mater of all future Polish Army commanding officers and staff officers. It also conducts extensive research on military doctrines, strategy and tactics, and cooperates with the Military Technical Academy in research of military equipment.
All graduates receive the title of licensed officer
Contents |
[edit] History
[edit] Szkoła Rycerska
The present National Defence University inherits the traditions of all previous Polish military academies. The first such school, the Szkoła Rycerska, was founded in 1765 by king Stanisław August Poniatowski. Among its graduates were some of the most notable military men of 18th and 19th centuries, including Tadeusz Kościuszko, Jakub Jasiński, Maurycy Hauke, Julian Ursyn Niemcewicz, Karol Kniaziewicz, Józef Sowiński, Kazimierz Nestor Sapieha and Rajmund Rembliński.
[edit] Szkoła Aplikacyjna
In 1794, after the Partitions of Poland, the school was closed. However, after 1815 the recreation of Kingdom of Poland allowed for opening several military colleges in Poland. The most notable of them, the Szkoła Aplikacyjna Artylerii i Inżynierii (Application School of Artillery and Engineering), was located in Warsaw and trained the cadres of the Polish Army fighting in the November Uprising against Russia. Only ca. 24 officers were admitted every year, which made its graduates an elite of the Polish armed forces. As an interesting fact, the French language professor at that school was Mikołaj Chopin, father of renowned composer and pianist Fryderyk Chopin. After the November Uprising, the school was closed by Russian authorities. However, military training of Polish officers continued in many foreign schools, most notably in France and Italy.
[edit] Wyższa Szkoła Wojenna
After the rebirth of Poland in 1918, there was already a well-trained and experienced cadre of Polish field officers trained in the armies of the partitioners (Russia, Germany and Austria-Hungary) as well as in France. However, the occupants of Poland rarely promoted the Poles to higher ranks and the reborn Polish Army was seriously lacking officers trained in general staff duties and in command of entire armies. To eliminate the problem, in cooperation with the French Military Mission to Poland and the Paris-based Ecole Superieure de Guerre, a Szkoła Wojenna Sztabu Generalnego (War School of the General Staff) was formed in mid-1919.
After the Polish-Bolshevik War, on August 16, 1922, the school was renamed to Wyższa Szkoła Wojenna (WSW, Higher War School). Until 1928, most professors were French, with Polish officers serving mostly as their assistants. Among them was Charles de Gaulle, the future president of France, who was a professor of tactics. The training was not limited to military affairs and among the civilians working there were some of the most notable scientists of the era, including Tadeusz Kotarbiński, Edward Lipiński and Marian Kukiel. Apart from the theoreticians, the professors included a large number of officers who gained combat experience in World War I, Polish-Bolshevik War, Polish-Ukrainian War and Polish-Lithuanian War, as well as the Greater Poland Uprising and Silesian Uprisings. Because of their experience, the school became prestigious and attracted many students from abroad, most notably from France, Georgia, Estonia, Latvia and even Japan. Among them were also the officers of the former Ukrainian army of Semen Petlura and White Russian emigrees.
During the 20 years of its existence, the WSW trained more than 1300 officers of the Polish Army. Most of them repaid the debt for Poland during the Polish Defensive War of 1939, while the majority of professors formed the staff of Poznań Army, the most successful of Polish Armies in the 1939 campaign.
After Poland was overrun by Germany and the Soviet Union, the school was closed. However, on November 11, 1940, it was recreated in London. It trained the officers of the Polish Army in Exile, fighting alongside the Allies on all fronts of World War II. The professors were recruited from among the active officers of the Polish HQ and the students included many of the notable generals of the Polish forces in Exile. In addition, the school was the alma mater of all highest-ranking Czechoslovak officers of the exiled army. It was closed in 1946, after the Allies withdrew their support for the Polish government.
[edit] Akademia Sztabu Generalnego
 |
Please help improve this section by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion. |
In 1947 the Academy of General Staff was created. Among its graduates were Zygmunt Zieliński, Bolesław Chocha, Antoni Jasiński and Wojciech Jaruzelski.
