Henryk Dobrzański „Hubal” was born in 1897 in Jasło. His family professed and cherished patriotic values, so the young boy had an enormous love for his country from his earliest years. His sacrifices during the war are remembered to this day. He said „I will not take off my uniform until death” and so it happened. He faithfully served his homeland and died for it on the battlefield.
The Beginnings of His Military Career
As early as 1914, he managed to join the 2nd Uhlan Regiment of the Polish Legions. He was too young, so he presented himself as a year older. From his youngest years, he wanted to fight for his homeland, and this is how his subsequent years passed.
In 1915, he was transferred to the staff cavalry platoon. At the end of the same year, he was transferred again at his own request to the 3rd Squadron of the 2nd Uhlan Regiment of the Polish Legions. In 1917, he even received the Military Medal and the Cross of Emperor Charles, and in 1919 he attained the rank of second lieutenant.
He participated in taking over Gdańsk Pomerania from the Germans (1920), but shortly after this event, he found himself on the front of the Polish-Bolshevik War. His enormous command talent was noticed there.
He participated in battles with Budyonny’s cavalry army and in the Battle of Komarów. For his courage, valor, and dedication, he was decorated with the Silver Cross of the Virtuti Militari War Order, the Cross of Valor, and the Cross of Independence.
Henryk Dobrzański and His Equestrian Career
Henryk had been interested in horses from his earliest years, and they were his great passion. When he was not yet eight years old, he fell from a horse while jumping over a cow’s back and suffered a concussion.
Dobrzański’s professional path related to horses began in 1922. It was then that he participated in his first equestrian competitions.
Already in 1924, he made it onto the Polish national team and achieved incredible successes. In Nice, he contributed to a joint victory and winning the Nations Cup. Dobrzański’s career developed very dynamically, and he won successive competitions. In Great Britain, he received a prize in the form of a gold cigarette case.
However, the history of Dobrzański’s equestrian career was not always filled with successes. Henryk, participating in the International Equestrian Competition in Warsaw, fell together with his horse during warm-up. The man’s condition was uncertain, and he ended up in the hospital, unconscious. However, he decided to leave the hospital, win the competition, and only then return to that hospital. This situation went down in history and is proof of how engaged and dedicated to the cause he was.
On the Front of World War II
In September 1939, Dobrzański was appointed to the position of deputy commander of the 110th Uhlan Regiment, but a decision was quickly made to disband it. Henryk did not give up and made the decision to continue marching toward occupied Warsaw. When he learned of the capital’s capitulation, he wanted to get to France, but this also failed. German forces thwarted all plans.
It was precisely at this time that he received the pseudonym „Hubal” and began organizing conspiratorial resistance, namely training posts for future soldiers. In this way, he prepared them for battle. He constantly moved around, and the ranks of volunteers grew larger and larger.
In just one month, Dobrzański managed to gather about 300 soldiers. Unfortunately, such a large group could attract attention, so the major decided to take only part of the group with him. But before this happened, Dobrzański had to deal with many problems.
Fighting Until the End
In October 1939, Dobrzański’s unit made it to the Bodzentyn area. A small group of 36 soldiers decided to stay in the Holy Cross Mountains until spring. During this time, their activity gained momentum. „Hubal” began to grow. A decision was made to join a military organization for which social activity was equally important.
Dobrzański’s unit itself constantly moved between small villages. The group was not very numerous because there was a high risk of being noticed and provoking the enemy. They undertook only defensive actions.
Unfortunately, the threat was great, and German units attacked Dobrzański’s unit. At the end of November 1939, a decision was made to take shelter in the Spała Forests until spring.
In just one month, because already at the end of February 1940, Major „Hubal’s” unit numbered over 300 people. Many of these people were volunteers living in nearby villages.
Unfortunately, Dobrzański’s activity was unacceptable to the Germans. As early as February 1940, actions began aimed at eliminating the enemy. Residents of nearby localities around which „Hubal’s” unit was stationed were captured. People were taken away for forced labor or to concentration camps.
In the spring of 1940, the Germans undertook actions aimed at getting rid of the underground conspiracy. This therefore meant a threat to Hubal’s unit. Initially, he managed to defeat the enemy despite their numerical superiority. German forces in retaliation burned villages and murdered people along the route of Dobrzański’s unit. He himself took this hard but did not want to give up. Unfortunately, during one of the stops, on April 30, 1940, Henryk Dobrzański was shot with a machine gun while mounting his horse.
Selected Bibliography
Hap W., O Hubalu rodem z Jasła… [https://www.podkarpackahistoria.pl/wiadomosci/554,o-hubalu-rodem-z-jasla].
Sobierajski H., Dyszyński A., „Hubal” – mjr Henryk Dobrzański 1897–1940, Warsaw 2005.
Autor
Rory Thornfield
Rory's grandfather left behind a wartime diary filled with accounts of a minor Burma skirmish that history books never mentioned. Reading it, Rory realized: behind every famous battle are dozens of forgotten struggles, each with its own human drama.
His preferred topics: The overlooked corners of military history – secondary campaigns, shadow battalions, local conflicts that never made headlines. From medieval sieges to twentieth-century expeditions, he focuses on the soldiers, not the generals. The people who faced impossible choices and carried those experiences forever.
Rory strips away the romanticism without losing respect for those who served. He combines tactical analysis with personal stories, examining human endurance and moral complexity rather than celebrating warfare. His writing is balanced, thoughtful, and deeply researched.
Outside work, Rory visits forgotten battlefields (now quiet farmland), photographs war memorials nobody tends anymore, and interviews veterans' families.