Fauj-i-Khas
Encyclopedia
The Fauj-i-Khas was a brigade
of the Sikh Khalsa Army
of Punjab
in the time before the First Anglo-Sikh War
.
It was the Maharaja Ranjit Singh
who started to hire European officers to train and command parts of his army. The Fauj-i-Khas was a model brigade trained and equipped after European model under the command of General Jean-Baptiste Ventura
.
The Fauj-i-Khas had 4 battalions of infantry, 2 regiments of cavalry and a troop of artillery. The cavalry was built on a British model and the infantry on French pattern. This was the first unit in the army to be equipped European-style. Impressed by its performance, the Maharaja ordered a total reorganisation of his whole regular force on the model of Fauj-i-Khas in 1835. This alarmed the British, who had come to see the emerging military power of Punjab as a threat, to such a degree that they in 1837 issued orders to be vigilant and try to arrest any French officer travelling in disguise to join Ranjit Singh’s army.
Before Ranjit Singh, the Punjab army was mainly a pure cavalry army. Under the supervision of the European officers, and encouragement by the Maharaja, the infantry and artillery gained importance, and by the time of the death of Ranjit Singh, the infantry service had become the preferred service in the army.
Over the years many Europeans served in the army of the Punjab. Among them:
Brigade
A brigade is a major tactical military formation that is typically composed of two to five battalions, plus supporting elements depending on the era and nationality of a given army and could be perceived as an enlarged/reinforced regiment...
of the Sikh Khalsa Army
Sikh Khalsa Army
Punjab Army was the military force of the Sikh Empire responsible for land defense from 1801-1849.-Background:...
of Punjab
Punjab region
The Punjab , also spelled Panjab |water]]s"), is a geographical region straddling the border between Pakistan and India which includes Punjab province in Pakistan and the states of the Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh and some northern parts of the National Capital Territory of Delhi...
in the time before the First Anglo-Sikh War
First Anglo-Sikh War
The First Anglo-Sikh War was fought between the Sikh Empire and the British East India Company between 1845 and 1846. It resulted in partial subjugation of the Sikh kingdom.-Background and causes of the war:...
.
It was the Maharaja Ranjit Singh
Ranjit Singh
Maharaja Ranjit Singh Ji was the first Maharaja of the Sikh Empire.-Early life:...
who started to hire European officers to train and command parts of his army. The Fauj-i-Khas was a model brigade trained and equipped after European model under the command of General Jean-Baptiste Ventura
Jean-Baptiste Ventura
Jean-Baptiste Ventura was a soldier, mercenary and adventurer who ended up in the Sikh Empire in Punjab....
.
The Fauj-i-Khas had 4 battalions of infantry, 2 regiments of cavalry and a troop of artillery. The cavalry was built on a British model and the infantry on French pattern. This was the first unit in the army to be equipped European-style. Impressed by its performance, the Maharaja ordered a total reorganisation of his whole regular force on the model of Fauj-i-Khas in 1835. This alarmed the British, who had come to see the emerging military power of Punjab as a threat, to such a degree that they in 1837 issued orders to be vigilant and try to arrest any French officer travelling in disguise to join Ranjit Singh’s army.
Before Ranjit Singh, the Punjab army was mainly a pure cavalry army. Under the supervision of the European officers, and encouragement by the Maharaja, the infantry and artillery gained importance, and by the time of the death of Ranjit Singh, the infantry service had become the preferred service in the army.
Over the years many Europeans served in the army of the Punjab. Among them:
- General Jean-François AllardJean-François AllardJean-François Allard was a French soldier and adventurer.Born in Saint Tropez, he became a soldier and was twice injured while serving in Napoleon's army. He was awarded the Légion d'honneur, and promoted to Captain of the 7th Hussars. After Waterloo, he drifted around and went to Persia where he...
(cavalry) - French - General Paolo Di AvitabilePaolo Di AvitabileGeneral Paolo Crescenzo Martino Avitabile was an Italian soldier, mercenary and adventurer. A peasant's son born in Agerola, near Amalfi in Italy, he served in the Neapolitan militia during the Napoleonic wars. After Waterloo he drifted east like many other adventurous soldiers...
(infantry) - Italian (NaplesNaplesNaples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
) - General Jean-Baptiste VenturaJean-Baptiste VenturaJean-Baptiste Ventura was a soldier, mercenary and adventurer who ended up in the Sikh Empire in Punjab....
(infantry) - Italian (ModenaModenaModena is a city and comune on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy....
) - General Claude August CourtClaude August CourtClaude Auguste Court was a French soldier and mercenary.He was hired by Maharaja Ranjit Singh of Punjab in 1827 to organize and train the artillery. He was promoted to the rank of General, and served as one of the leading European officers in the Khalsa....
(artillery) - French - Colonel Alexander GardnerAlexander Gardner (soldier)Alexander Haughton Campbell Gardner was a traveller, soldier and mercenary. He travelled to Afghanistan and Punjab and served in various military positions in the region.-Biography:...
(artillery) - American (Wisconsin) - Colonel John HolmesJohn Holmes (mercenary)John Holmes was an Anglo-Indian mercenary in Punjab. He served in the Sikh army during the final years of Punjab's independence, and rose to the rank of Colonel. He served with the Khalsa, the Sikh Army, during the First Anglo-Sikh War....
- Anglo-Indian
Sources
- Major Pearse, Hugh; Ranjit Singh and his white officers. In
- Fauj-i-khas Maharaja Ranjit Singh and His French Officers, by Jean Marie Lafont. Published by Guru Nanak Dev University, 2002. ISBN 8177700480.
- The Sikh Army 1799-1849 By Ian Heath, Michael Perry
- Maharaja Ranjit Singh By Jean Marie Lafont (Page 59,146,148)