AON was the alma mater of Polish commanding and staff officers and civilian experts in national and international security matters.

The most notable, Szkoła Aplikacyjna Artylerii i Inżynierii (Artillery and Engineers School), was located in Warsaw and trained cadres of the Polish Army that fought in the November 1830 Uprising against Russia.

Located at Warsaw, it was established to train high-ranking officers of the Polish Army and of the armed forces of several allied states.

After the rebirth of Poland in 1918, there was already a well-trained and experienced cadre of Polish field officers trained in the armies of the partitioners (Russia, Germany and Austria-Hungary) as well as in France.

To eliminate the problem, in cooperation with the French Military Mission to Poland and the Paris-based École supérieure de guerre, a Szkoła Wojenna Sztabu Generalnego (War School of the General Staff) was formed in mid-1919.

The training was not limited to military affairs and among the civilians working there were some of the most notable scientists of the era, including Tadeusz Kotarbiński, Edward Lipiński and Marian Kukiel.

Because of their experience, the school became prestigious and attracted many students from abroad, most notably from France, Georgia, Estonia, Latvia and even Japan.

It trained the officers of the Polish Army in Exile, fighting alongside the Allies on all fronts of World War II.

The purpose of education was to prepare personnel to serve in the brigade and division staffs of the Polish Armed Forces in the West.

School received establishment to the exercises, instructions and other normative documents from the British armed forces, allowing joint operations.