In 1898 shortly after leaving school he was in one of the first groups of students to enter the newly founded Kiev Polytechnic Institute of Emperor Alexander II.

With the commencement of the First World War in 1914 he was mobilised to participate in the campaign against Germany and Austria and was assigned as a staff officer to the headquarters of the XXIII Corps of the Imperial Russian Army.

In 1920, during the Polish-Soviet War, he was involved in a great deal of fierce fighting, particularly in the evacuation from Wilno and the Defense of Grodno.

On August 12, 1920 he was promoted to Major and became Commander of the II Battalion of the 1st Tank Regiment, taking over from Captain Henryk Romiszowski.

With the formal ending of the Polish-Soviet war in 1921 he retired from his command of the II Battalion of the 1st Tank Regiment and recommenced in his career as an engineer being responsible for the building a number of bridges and other civil works.