Henryk Dobrzanski

Major Henryk Dobrzański aka "Hubal" (June 22, 1897 - April 30, 1940) was a Polish soldier, sportsman and partisan. He was the first guerrilla commander of the Second World War in Europe.

Early life and career

Henryk Dobrzański was born on June 22, 1897, in Jasło, Austria-Hungary to a Polish noble family (Coat of arms of Leliwa), of Henryk Dobrzański de Hubal and Maria Dobrzańska née Lubieniecka. In 1912 he joined the "Drużyny Strzeleckie", an underground Scouting organisation. When World War I broke out he volunteered to join Józef Piłsudski's Polish Legions. He served with distinction in the 2nd Regiment of Uhlans and participated in many battles such as Stawczany and Battle of Rarańcza. In 1918 after Poland regained its independence he joined the Polish Army.

He took part in the Polish-Ukrainian War of 1918 and fought with his cavalry platoon during the Siege of Lwów. Later he participated in Polish-Bolshevik War of 1919-1921. For his bravery he was awarded the Virtuti Militari, the highest Polish military award, and four times the Krzyż Walecznych, in addition to many other military awards.

After the Peace of Riga he remained in the Polish Army. He became a member of the Polish equestrian team, winning many international competitions. He also took part in the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam and came fourth at the prestigious Aldershot competition. In his sports career he gained 22 gold, three silver and four bronze medals altogether.

World War II

Shortly before the 1939 Invasion of Poland he was assigned to the 110th reserve Cavalry Regiment as a deputy commander. His unit was to enter combat as a second-line formation, but fast advances of the Wehrmacht made the completion of training impossible. On September 11 it was moved to Wołkowysk, from where it marched towards Grodno and Augustów Forest. It fought several skirmishes against the German army and took part in the defense of the city against the Red Army.

After two days of heavy fighting against the numerically superior Soviets, on September 20 Grodno was lost and three days later gen. bryg. Wacław Przeździecki, the commander of the defense of the Grodno area, ordered all his troops to escape to neutral Lithuania. The 110th Regiment was the only unit to disobey this order. The unit joined with the remnants of several routed regiments and fought its way towards the capital Warsaw. The unit got surrounded by the Red Army in the Biebrza river area and suffered serious casualties, but managed to break through the enemy defenses. After that, Lt. Col. Jerzy Dąbrowski, the commander of the regiment, decided to disband it. Henryk Dobrzański took command of approximately 180 men who decided to continue their march towards besieged Warsaw.

When Warsaw capitulated on September 27, Dobrzański faced three choices: evacuate (via Hungary or Romania) to France, disband the unit, or continue the fight. He decided to lead his unit southwards and try to break through to France. Approximately 50 men volunteered to stay in the army, while the rest were allowed to leave. On October 1, 1939, they crossed the Vistula near Dęblin and started their march towards the Holy Cross Mountains. The same day his unit fought the first skirmish against the Germans. After that he decided to stay in the Kielce area with his unit and wait until the Allied relief came, which he expected in the Spring of 1940. He also swore that he would not take off his uniform until after the war.

On October 5, the Battle of Kock ended the resistance of the last major unit of the Polish Army and thus Hubal became the first partisan commander of World War II. Thanks to the support of the local civilian population, the "Separated Unit of the Polish Army" (Oddział Wydzielony Wojska Polskiego), as he named his unit, managed to evade all raids and traps organised by the Germans. However, the German authorities responded with brutal retaliation against the civil population. Because of that the newly formed ZWZ and the Government Delegate's Office at Home ordered Hubal to disband his unit, but he refused. At the same time he limited his contacts with the civilians so as not to endanger them more than necessary.

In March 1940 his unit completely destroyed a unit of German police (100 dead) in a skirmish near the village of Huciska. A few days later, in an ambush near the village of Szałasy, it inflicted heavy casualties on another German unit. To counter this threat the German authorities formed a special 1,000 men strong anti-partisan unit of combined SS-Wehrmacht forces, including a Panzer group. Although the unit of Maj. Dobrzański never exceeded 300 men, the Germans fielded at least 8,000 men in the area to secure it.

Death and legacy

On April 30, 1940, his staff quarters in a ravine near the village of Anielin (powiat of Opoczno) were ambushed. In an unequal battle Dobrzański and most of his men were killed. The Germans desecrated his body and put it on public view in the local villages. They then transported it to Tomaszów Mazowiecki and either burnt it or buried it in an unknown location. The remnants of the "Separated Unit of the Polish Army" continued the struggle until June 25, 1940, when it was disbanded.

In 1949, Dobrzański's son, Ludwik, emigrated to England and became a property developer. He died in 1990 (December 15), in the town of Bedford.

In 1966 Henryk Dobrzański was posthumously awarded the Golden Cross of the Virtuti Militari and promoted to Colonel. Currently almost 200 organisations and institutions bear his name, including 82 Scouting groups, 31 schools and several military units. There are streets named after him in almost every Polish city. The site of his burial remains unknown.

In 1973 the film Hubal, based on his resistance campaign, was released.

The pseudonym "Hubal" comes from his family coat of arms.

Decorations

Military decorations awarded to Henyrk Dobrzański include:

• Order Virtuti Militari Golden Cross (posthumously in 1966)
• Order Virtuti Militari Silver Cross
• Cross of Independence
• Cross of Valour 4 times
• Medal Decade of regained Independence
• Commemorative Medal for War of 1918-1921