Born in Beuthen in Upper Silesia, Kachel came from a mining family, and was raised in the Polish tradition. He was a member of the Union of Poles in Germany. In 1924 he joined the Polish Scouting Association (Związek Harcerstwa Polskiego or ZHP) in Germany. From March 1935 to September 1939 Kachel was the head of the Polish Scouting Association in Germany, and organized training courses for Scout instructors at Warmia and Powiśle. After the Invasion of Poland of 1939 the ZHP were branded criminals by Nazi Germany, who had executed many Scouts and Guides, along with other possible resistance leaders, but the ZHP carried on as a clandestine organization. In 1940, the Soviet Union executed most of the Boy Scouts held at Ostashkov prison. Kachel was imprisoned in Buchenwald concentration camp.