The Sarawak Rangers

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The Sarawak Rangers were a para-military force founded in 1872 by the second Rajah of Sarawak, Charles Anthoni Johnson Brooke. They evolved from the fortmen which were raised to defend Kuching in 1846. The Sarawak Rangers were commanded by a former British Army Officer and were highly skilled in jungle warfare and general policing duties, being equipped with various western rifles, cannons and native weaponry. They were based in a number of forts constructed at strategic locations in towns and riverheads. Aside from protecting Sarawak's borders, they were used to fight any rebels and were engaged in a number of campaigns during their history. In times of emergency or war, they could depend on the support of the local population and tribespeople. The Sarawak Rangers were disbanded for a few years in the 1930's, only to be reformed and mobalised for the Second World War in which they attempted to defend Sarawak from Japanese invasion in 1942 at the start of the Pacific War. After the abdication of Charles Vyner Brooke in 1946, the Sarawak Rangers became a colonial unit under direct British control and saw action in both the Malayan Emergency and the Borneo Confrontation.