Old Polish art of war in the research of Antoni Hniłko and Wacław Lipiński of the Military History Bureau

Abstract

The article describes the scientific activity of Antoni Hniłko (1885– 1945?) and Wacław Lipiński (1896–1949) in the field of the Old Polish art of war. Although they were not peers, both went through a similar path of professional and academic development. After graduating from the Jagiellonian University, they were employed by the Military History Bureau and published findings that still remain valid despite the progress in the field. As alumni of the so-called New Kraków Historical School, having attended the seminars of Wiktor Czermak, Wacław Sobieski and Stanisław Kutrzeba, they reached a high level of scientific skills and addressed topics that had been neglected. Lipiński was particularly successful in this regard, as his dissertation on the Smolensk campaign of 1632–1634 is notable for a modern approach to the methodology of military history research.