Acknowledgements
No academic work is created in a vacuum. Science requires that a scholar engages in consultations, discussions, and sometimes even disputes. This forces us to re-examine our own ideas, which otherwise would lose a lot of their merit. This book is the result of years of thinking about and studying military treatises. I would like to thank all the academics that I have encountered in my professional career. It was during numerous conferences and symposia that some of my theses were verified and discussed, at times making me amend my stance.
I owe enormous thanks to the readers of the Polish version, Professors Teresa Wolińska, Krzysztof Królczyk, Ireneusz Łuć and Anna Kotłowska. Their insights allowed me to avoid many errors. I would be remiss in my duties if I did not give proper credit to an anonymous reviewer assigned by the publishing house, whose tireless efforts had a big impact on the final shape of this book. I cannot possibly forget my friend and translator, Krzysztof Chorzewski, who likely knows this book even better than I do, and whose notes saved me from a number of additional mistakes. For any fallacies that remain herein, I am solely to blame.
A separate acknowledgement should go to my mentor, Prof. Dr. Hab. Kazimierz Ilski, who always supported me in my research endeavors and showed me that history does not need to be a restricted field of study. My final word of thanks goes to my loved ones, my wife Estera and my children Aurelia and Leon – you are my whole world!