He graduated with distinction from the Imperial and Royal Technical Military Academy in Mödling and was commissioned as a second lieutenant, in an explosives ordnance unit.

In 1910, Kutrzeba continued his military education in Vienna, studying engineering, and was promoted to the rank of lieutenant in 1911.

During the invasion of Poland in 1939, General Kutrzeba commanded the Poznań Army, composed of four infantry divisions (14, 17, 25, 26) and two cavalry brigades (Wielkopolska and Podolska).

General Kutrzeba remained a prisoner of war until April 1945, when Oflag VII-A Murnau was liberated by American forces.

In 1957, his ashes – according to his last will – were transported to Poland and buried in Aleja Zasłużonych at the Powązki Military Cemetery in Warsaw (section A30-2 semicircle-8).