Wacław Jan Przeździecki was born on 15 July 1883 in Leśmierz near Łęczyca to a family of old Polish gentry of Pierzchała Coat of Arms,[citation needed] deprived of all their property by the Russian authorities after the January Uprising.

Przeździecki then joined the Imperial Russian Army and served as an adjutant in the officers school and the 260th Infantry Regiment stationed in Batum.

During the Invasion of Poland in 1939, he returned to active service and took part in formation of various reserve and improvised units for the German and then Soviet fronts.

When he refused and relied his reaction on the decision of the Polish Government in Exile, he was transferred to a special NKVD detention centre in Gryazovets.

After the Sikorski-Mayski Agreement he was released from the prison and allowed to join the Polish II Corps, with which he moved to Persia, Iraq and finally to Palestine.