On 30 April 1940 his staff quarters, in a ravine near the village of Anielin (powiat of Opoczno), were ambushed. In an unequal battle Dobrzański and most of his men were killed. The Germans desecrated his body and put it on public view in the local villages. They then transported it to Tomaszów Mazowiecki and either burnt it or buried it in an unknown location. The remnants of the "Separated Unit of the Polish Army" continued the struggle until 25 June 1940, when it was disbanded.