The legendary "Hubal" on a postage stamp
On Wednesday, June 22nd of this year, Poczta Polska introduced a postage stamp from the "125th Anniversary of the Birth of Henryk Dobrzański, codename Hubal" issue. A circulation of 168,000 stamps reached customers and philatelists precisely on the anniversary of the birth of the legendary commander from the Kielce region.
With its latest philatelic issue, Poczta Polska honors and commemorates Henryk Dobrzański, codename "Hubal", a major of the Polish Army cavalry, a decorated sportsman, the last Polish "zagończyk", commander of the Separate Unit of the Polish Army during World War II.
The stamp features an artistically colored portrait of the heroic officer. Poczta Polska also issued a limited edition First Day of Circulation (FDC) envelope. It features an archive photograph of the major from 1940, surrounded by a group of soldiers from the Polish Army Special Unit.
"There was no order to surrender... you went through hell... behind us are the graves of our colleagues... did they die so that we should now lay down our weapons? I will not lay down my weapons, I will not take off my uniform... so help me God" – these are the words the major spoke after the announcement of the capital's surrender in September 1939 to the soldiers of the 110th Reserve Uhlan Regiment, with whom he had walked the entire September trail.
Henryk Dobrzański was born on June 22, 1897, in Jasło, into a landed gentry family with patriotic traditions. After the outbreak of World War I in 1914, he first donned his uniform as a soldier in the Polish Legions and remained in it until his death. For his services on the battlefields of World War I, he was awarded the Cross of Valor. In 1920, he was awarded the Silver Cross of the Virtuti Militari for his heroism in the battles of Lviv and Borów.
During the interwar period, Henryk Dobrzański also celebrated sporting success, winning medals at the Olympic Games and the World Championships in equestrian events. In 1939, he decided to end his active military service, but when the real threat of another war loomed, he decided to remain in uniform. After receiving the order to surrender following the Soviet Union's aggression against Poland and the subsequent capitulation of Warsaw, the major decided to continue the fight alone. He adopted the pseudonym "Hubal," and his unit was the last fighting unit of the Polish Army. On March 13, 1940, "Hubal" received an order to immediately demobilize his unit, which at that time numbered 320 men. The major refused to obey, however, leaving his soldiers free to surrender. "Mad Hubal," as the Germans called him, was the last soldier of the Polish Republic who wanted to survive in a Polish Army uniform until help arrived from the West. "I will not take off my uniform until I die" – that was his promise, and he kept it. On April 29th, Major Hubal's Polish Army Detachment was surrounded by approximately eight thousand Germans near the village of Anielin. The next day, while attempting to break through the enemy cordon, the uhlans were ambushed. One bullet mortally wounded Major Henryk Dobrzański.
The Polish Army Detachment, under Major Hubal's command, is the only military unit of the Second Polish Republic that never surrendered.
About the stamp:
author of the project: Poczta Polska SA
colorization of the photo: Mirosław Szponar
number of stamps: 1
value: PLN 3.60
circulation: 168,000 pcs
printing technique: offset
stamp format: 31.25 x 43 mm
paper: fluorescent
sales sheets: 12 stamps in the tête-bêche layout
date of introduction into circulation: June 22, 2022