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. It consisted of 11000 horsemen(Ghor Charras), divided into fifteen Dera led by eminent sardars, among them Sham Singh Atariwala, Gurmukh Singh Lamba, Hari Singh Nalwa, and two by non Sikhs, the Mulraj Derah of Dewan Mulraj and Dorgra Derah of Dhian Dogra. Izazi-i-sardari was the highest honour, most distinguished Sikh generals, sardar Gurmukh Singh Lamba, Hari Singh Nalwa, and Dal Singh Nahama were the recipient. Emblems The Fauj-i-Khas had its own Flag, with the Punjabi inscription of the motto of the Sikh Khalsa Army:"Deg Tegh Fateh.It had also many banners,all of them blue in colour with circles,horses,flowers and corn plants Size 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. One of the most unique regiments of the Sikh Khalsa Army was the Shutersvaar or the cannon mounted war camel used by Hari Singh Nalwa in his conquest of Peshawar. The Shutersvaar was in the Sher-Dil-Rajman Regiment. Battles Commanders Over the years many Europeans served in the army of the Punjab. Among them: General Jean-François Allard (cavalry) - French General Paolo Di Avitabile (infantry) - Italian (Naples) General Jean-Baptiste Ventura (infantry) - Italian (Modena) General Claude August Court (artillery) - French Colonel Alexander Gardner (artillery) - American (Wisconsin) Colonel John Holmes - Anglo-Indian Hari Singh Nalwa- Punjabi Sources Major Pearse, Hugh; Ranjit Singh and his white officers. In Fauj-i-khas Maharaja