Feldmarstchalleutnant Oskar Leo von Englisch-Popparich (geb. Dzbánski)

Oskar Dzbánski was born the legitimate son of Anton Dzbánski and Theresia, née Brojakowski, in Lemberg in Gallicia [today: Lviv in Ukraine]. The family was Protestant. His father died soon after his birth. His mother then marries the k.u.k. General of Artillery Alfred von Englisch-Popparich and converted to the Catholic faith. Alfred von Englisch-Popparich adopts Oskar Dzbánski and he takes his name.

The family moves to Vienna, where Oskar von Englisch-Popparich attends elementary school and then the military secondary school in St. Pölten. He then transferred to the military secondary school in Mährisch-Weißenkirchen, where he graduated in 1898 and went to the Theresian Military Academy in Wiener Neustadt in the same year. In 1899 he joined the k.u.k. as a lieutenant. Dragoon Regiment 'Emperor Ferdinand I' No. 4 as a lieutenant. In 1904 he was promoted to first lieutenant and in 1912 to cavalry captain. He was stationed in Brünn [today: Brno in the Czech Republic], Agram [today: Zagreb in Croatia] and Podgorica [today: Montenegro], among other places. He married Helene Wenzlik in 1907 and became the father of a daughter in 1908. As a soldier, he took part in World War I from the very beginning and was deployed in various theaters of war in the Balkans until 1918. On January 1, 1918, he was promoted to major.

After the defeat of the Dual Monarchy, the break-up of Austria-Hungary and the expulsion of the Habsburgs from Austria, Oskar von Englisch-Popparich joined the new Austrian army and was promoted to lieutenant colonel on July 1, 1920. On July 8, 1921, he was promoted to colonel, converted to the Catholic faith and finally became a major general on February 26, 1926, becoming commander of the Upper Austria No. 4 Brigade.

The convinced Austrian legitimist becomes involved in the Reichsbund der Österreicher, where he becomes Upper Austrian provincial chairman, and in the Eisernen Ring. He is closely associated with Otto von Habsburg-Lothringen. He is also active in the Upper Austrian Heimatschutz and in the Kameradschaftsverbände. On April 30, 1931, he was promoted to Field Marshal Lieutenant and retired. In his honorary functions, the patriotic Austrian campaigned vehemently against the rise of National Socialism and for a free and independent Austria.

On March 12, 1938, Oskar von Englisch-Popparich witnessed the occupation of his homeland, whose independence he had vehemently campaigned for, by the German Wehrmacht. On March 13, 1938, he was arrested by the Gestapo and remained in custody until February 9, 1939. After that, the retired Field Marshal Lieutenant lived with his wife in Linz.

In April and May 1945, Oskar von Englisch-Popparich witnessed the liberation of Austria and the re-establishment of the Republic. He retired due to his age.