Wild Tigers Corps

Having become king, Rama VI Vachiravud devoted enough time to strengthening the country's defense capabilities. On his orders, the Thai Air Force was established and the country's navy was strengthened. Special forces were allocated from the ground forces, which patrolled the state border. In addition, military and police special services monitored public order. Rama VI was not a fan of Western models of society. He was aware of the need for changes in the country and the need for reforms, but he was against the establishment of a Western parliamentary form of democracy in Siam, since he believed that the state was not yet ready to take such a bold step ^[1] .

Wild Tigers Corps was formed on May 1, 1911 by order of King Siam Rama VI Wachiravuda. The corps obeyed only the orders of the king. Initially, the main task of the Wild Tigers was to protect the royal palace during various ceremonies. However, a year after its creation, Wild Tigers received the status of a militarized detachment, which was supposed to protect the king, his family, officials and other people who held high posts in the state. The detachment consisted of about 4 thousand people, many of whom came from poor families. Rama VI Vachiravud personally led the squad, communicated on equal terms with his officers. Over time, Wild Tigers became a more authoritative military force than the Royal Thai Army . This led to the dissatisfaction of the army officers, who in previous years could have influenced senior officials and the royal elite. Many corps officers began to occupy high posts in the army, received the status of the nobility.

The discontent of army officers and aristocrats grew, as Rama VI Vachiravud paid more and more attention to the development of the personal guard, thereby expanding their influence in the state apparatus of Siam . It is worth noting that army commanders could not join the ranks of Wild Tigers ^[2] .

At the beginning of the 20th century, the foundations of the absolute monarchy began to gradually shake, mainly due to attempts by the kings of Siam Rama IV Mongkut and Rama V Chulalongkorn to modernize and westernize the country since the middle of the XIX century. Democratic reformist ideas spread throughout the country, brought in by young Thais from noble families returning after studying in Europe. Inspired by the 1911 revolution in China , young people were disappointed that the liberal king Rama VI had not introduced the Constitution and decided to forcibly introduce a constitutional monarchy or even republican rule.

In 1912, young ground officers attempted a coup d'etat. The immediate prerequisite was the dissatisfaction of the army officers with the king’s special attention and the privileges enjoyed by the king’s personal guard officers - the 4,000-strong Wild Tigers Corps ^[3] .