„Wojny ograniczone” XVII i XVIII wieku
The „Limited Wars” of the 17th and 18th Centuries

Summary/Abstract: Conflicts between European states from the beginning of the reign of Louis XIV (1661) to the start of the wars with revolutionary France (1792) are referred to in the scientific literature of many countries as „limited wars”. This term means „wars waged with limited forces to achieve limited goals”. Their limited nature was intended to clearly distinguish them from earlier conflicts, which were religiously motivated, and the wars with revolutionary and Napoleonic France, which were ideologically motivated. However, the concept of „limited war”, which was created based on the analysis of selected conflicts, primarily the War of the Spanish Succession and the wars of Frederick II that were conducted on a small part of the European continent, has serious flaws. Supporters of the concept focus on the military dimension of wars – the size and organization of the armed forces and the course of military operations, whilst relegating or completely ignoring the political, economic and social considerations related to military conflicts. An in-depth analysis of wars can only be achieved by combining these elements with military factors, the lack of which indicates the very superficial nature of the concept. Adopting the „limited war” viewpoint makes it more difficult to fully understand not only the wars that took place during the second half of the 17th and the 18th century, but also the conflicts that preceded and followed them.

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