Václav Kořínek

One of the highest ranking officers to survive the war in Czechoslovakia, in 1984 Vaclav Korinek was the deputy commander of the Czech 15th Tank Division, a reserve formation based in northern Bohemia. Having previously had an impressive career in military intelligence that included training with the GRU in the Soviet Far East, he was expecting to end his career as a Major General, with a comfortable pension, and to have been able to indulge his hobby of amateur astronomy. Instead he found himself thrust into a bloody war against a strong, capable and ruthless enemy.

The 15th was held back for territorial defense and did not contribute to the Soviet offensive into West Germany, but found itself driven to the front when NATO forces invaded Czechoslovak territory. His superior officer was killed during a NATO airstrike, but Vaclav stepped up and assumed command of the division. In late 1985 he withdrew his troops back to their base areas to refit and recover. Although he lost a lot of his troops and heavy equipment, the 15th was one of the few cohesive fighting forces left that was still nominally loyal to the Czechoslovak government, even if command and control had all but collapsed in the wake of the nuclear strike that destroyed Prague.

In 1986 Korinek and his men began extending their control over several other communities. Organised enough that they were not troubled by any but the largest groups of Marauders present in the area, the General soon turned his attention to the presence of Soviet troops in Jaromer. The General has based himself in the small town of Horice in order to be close to the engagement in Jaromer. If he is able to remove the Soviets from their territory and garrison it effectively, especially if he can salvage some of their heavy equipment, he will become the most powerful warlord in the former Czechoslovakia - not a title he relishes.

The General's main goal is to ensure safety and security for as many Czechoslovak people as he can. He considers himself nominally loyal to the idea of a Czechoslovak national government but at present this is just an idea, although he tries to keep in touch with other Czechoslovak forces, most notably those based around Hranice. He longs to one day retire, hand over his responsibilities and return to what he is now realising is his true life passion, the study of astronomy, but for now he must make do with a home made telescope and an hour or two each week snatched from his official duties.

In his youth the General was a bear of a man but the depridations of war have not treated him kindly. He is still very tall, at more than 190cm, but his cheeks are sunken, his skin is sallow, and while his shoulders are broad his build is rail-thin. Despite this his eyes are alert and his personality is still very active and even charming. He has the air of a professor more than a military man, something he subtly encourages by letting his hair grow rakishly long, wearing pince nez glasses and smoking a pipe. He wears the uniform of a Czech brigadier general and rarely takes his hat off. He speaks Russian fairly well but with a noticeable Czech accent, and he understands Slovak but doesn't speak it beyond a few words.