The tradition of General Tadeusz Kościuszko Military University of Land Forces dates back to the period of the first Republic of Poland when in 1765 king Stanisław August Poniatowski established the Corps of Cadets in Warsaw as a state school.  The first Commander of the School was Marshal of the Lithuanian Tribunal, commander of the Lithuanian Guard and general of Podolia Lands, Prince Adam Kazimierz CZARTORYSKI.  Among about 600 officers, who graduated from the school were the future famous commanders and heroes of the Polish Nation: Jakub JASIŃSKI, Józef Sowiński, Tadeusz KOŚCIUSZKO. Later on, the mission of training Polish Army Officers was continued by the Corps of Cadets in the Duchy of Warsaw and the School of Infantry Cadets in the Kingdom of Poland.

 

The following schools functioned in the years 1809 - 1831: the Elementary School of Artillery and Engineering, School of Infantry Cadets and School of Infantry and Cavalry Cadets, at which officer training was received by the future heroes of the national uprisings. It was the cadets of the School of Infantry Cadets in Warsaw, commanded by Lt Piotr WYSOCKI, who initiated the outbreak of the uprising on 29 November 1830. Every year, Cadet's Day, which also constitutes the holiday of the University, is celebrated to commemorate the "November night".

 

During the times of the partitions and in the period preceding World War II, officers were trained at many Polish military schools in exile.  After the independence was restored in 1918, the army regained its national nature and military education began to develop dynamically. 

 

In the years 1917 - 1939, schools training future officers included, among others: the Infantry Cadet School in Komorów/Ostrów Mazowiecka, Cavalry Officer Cadet School in Grudziądz and Engineering Officer Cadet School in Warsaw.  These schools played an important role in the training of the commanding officers of the army of the second Polish Republic.  The graduates of these schools passed a difficult exam in September 1939 and in the later battles fought on the fronts of World War II. During its existence, a total of 8,987 officers left the confines of the Infantry Cadet School in Komorów/Ostrów Mazowiecka, the first commander of which was General Staff Captain, Marian KUKIEL, and the last - Infantry Col Marian Stanisław RAGANOWICZ, commander of divisional infantry 41 ID (res.). The most prominent graduates of the school included, among others, Władysław RAGINIS, Zygmunt SZENDZIELARZ, Łukasz CIEPLIŃSKI and Franciszek DĄBROWSKI. The organisation and implementation of the training of the Home Army officers throughout  World War II  - the training at secret officer cadet schools and with full conspiracy - was a phenomenon on a global scale and as such deserves the special admiration and respect for its founders and those who run it.

Pursuant to the decision of the Minister of National Defence, the Military University of Land Forces inherits the traditions of the Infantry Cadet School in Komorów/Ostrów Mazowiecka.

 

Signet ring of Col. Eugeniusz Żongołłowicz, Commander of the Infantry Cadet School in Ostrów Mazowiecka – Komorów in the years 1934-1939