Bruno Olbrycht’s father, Piotr Olbrycht was a veterinarian. As a teenager, he graduated from elementary school in Bochnia and high school in Wadowice, where he joined the Sokol paramilitary organization. During World War One, Olbrycht served in 3rd Regions Infantry Regiment. In 1917, he was promoted to captain and planned to study at Jagiellonian University, but instead, he continued to fight the Russians in Eastern Galicia, Bukovina and Volhynia. After the Battle of Rarańcza, he was interned in a camp at Khust.