The National Defence University of Warsaw ( – AON) was the civil-military highest defence academic institution in Poland, located in Warszawa–Rembertów. In 2016 it was succeeded by the War Studies University.
The National Defence University in Warsaw was established on 1 October 1990 after reform of the General Staff Academy (est. 1947) and continued traditions of the Szkoła Rycerska ("The School of Knights") founded on 15 March 1765 and other subsequent military schools. The National Defence University was subordinate directly to the Polish Ministry of National Education. AON was the alma mater of Polish commanding and staff officers and civilian experts in national and international security matters. It also conducted extensive scientific research on state defence issues, military doctrine, theory of warfare, military art, including military strategy, operational art and tactics, also in the field of national and international security. The National Defence University in Warsaw cooperated with the Polish Ministry of National Defence, General Staff, North Atlantic Treaty Organization and other Polish and foreign military, scientific and academic institutions.
The school's master's program was a five-years study program, but also AON provided two-years under- and over graduate study programs and four-years PhD (Doctor of Science) programs and higher doctorate (habilitation) opportunity as well.
History
Corps of Cadets
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. Its graduates included some of the most notable military men of the 18th and 19th centuries, including Tadeusz Kościuszko, Jakub Jasiński, Maurycy Hauke, Julian Ursyn Niemcewicz, Karol Kniaziewicz, Józef Sowiński, Kazimierz Nestor Sapieha and Rajmund Rembieliński.
Artillery and Engineers School
In 1794, after the Partitions of Poland, the school was closed. However, after 1815 the recreation of the Kingdom of Poland allowed for opening several military colleges in Poland. The most notable, Szkoła Aplikacyjna Artylerii i Inżynierii (Artillery and Engineers School), was located in Warsaw and trained cadres of the Polish Army that fought in the November 1830 Uprising against Russia. Only some 24 officers were admitted each year, making its graduates an elite of the Polish armed forces. The instructor in French language was Mikołaj Chopin, father of renowned composer Fryderyk Chopin. After the November Uprising, the school was closed by Russian authorities. However, military training of Polish officers continued in foreign schools, most notably in France and Italy.
The War College
Wyższa Szkoła Wojenna (English: War College—literally, "Higher War School") was the most important Polish military academy in the period between the World Wars. Located at Warsaw, it was established to train high-ranking officers of the Polish Army and of the armed forces of several allied states. It was a predecessor of Poland's present National Defense Academy (Polish: Akademia Obrony Narodowej).
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 École supérieure de guerre, a Szkoła Wojenna Sztabu Generalnego (War School of the General Staff) was formed in mid-1919.