W poszukiwaniu doświadczenia wojskowego czy sławy wojennej. Peregrynacje militarne Polaków w XVIII wieku
In Pursuit of Military Experience or Military Renown: Military Peregrinations of Poles in the 18th Century

Summary/Abstract: This article discusses the journeys undertaken by 18th-century officers of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth to European countries in their quest for professional education and military expertise. The phenomenon of military peregrinations gained momentum during the 18th century, becoming more popular than in the previous centuries. This development can be attributed, on one hand, to the profound crisis in Polish military affairs and, on the other hand, to the small size of the Crown and Lithuanian armies. Due to the difficulty in ascertaining the full extent of this phenomenon, this article is limited to an analysis of a representative sample of several dozen officers who embarked on such peregrinations between the 1720s and the 1780s. Notably, it was the Saxon army that emerged as the most favoured destination for Polish officers, this fact being intrinsically linked to the presence of the Wettin dynasty on the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth’s throne. As for foreign armies, it was the French, Austrian, Prussian, and Russian contingents that were the most popular.

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