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John Holmes was an Anglo-Indian mercenary in Sikh Empire. He served in the Sikh Army during the final years of Punjab's independence, and rose from a trumpeter to the rank of Colonel. He served with the Sikh Khalsa Army, during the First Anglo-Sikh War.
He joined the Bengal Horse Artillery and in September 1829 resigned his post and moved to Punjab in search of a better future. He joined Maharaja Ranjit Singh's army. It is suspected that he simultaneously worked for Ranjit Singh and spied for the British. He took part in the Battle of Peshawar (1834) and the Battle of Jamrud (1837). He was also appointed the Revenue Officer of Gujrat for two years (1835–36). While most of the European Officers were discharged from the Sikh Army after the First Anglo-Sikh war, John Holmes was retained in service as a reward for supplying secret information to the Ludhiana Political Agency. He was posted at Bannu where, in October 1848, the Sikh troops under his command mutinied and killed him for his treasonable conduct.
He was the last European attached to the Sikh army. [1]
Ranjit Singh, popularly known as Sher-e-Punjab or "Lion of Punjab", was the first Maharaja of the Sikh Empire, which ruled the northwest Indian subcontinent in the early half of the 19th century. He survived smallpox in infancy but lost sight in his left eye. He fought his first battle alongside his father at age 10. After his father died, he fought several wars to expel the Afghans in his teenage years and was proclaimed as the "Maharaja of Punjab" at age 21. His empire grew in the Punjab region under his leadership through 1839.
The First Anglo-Sikh War was fought between the Sikh Empire and the British East India Company in 1845 and 1846 around the Ferozepur district of Punjab. It resulted in defeat and partial subjugation of the Sikh empire and cession of Jammu & Kashmir as a separate princely state under British suzerainty.
The Second Anglo-Sikh War was a military conflict between the Sikh Empire and the East India Company which took place from 1848 to 1849. It resulted in the fall of the Sikh Empire, and the annexation of the Punjab and what subsequently became the North-West Frontier Province, by the East India Company.
General Paolo Crescenzo Martino Avitabile, also known as Abu Tabela, was an Italian soldier, mercenary and adventurer. A peasant's son born in Agerola, in the province of Napoli near Sorrento, he served in the Neapolitan militia during the Napoleonic wars. After Waterloo he drifted east like many other adventurous soldiers. In 1820 he joined the army of the Shah of Persia, attaining the rank of colonel and receiving several decorations before returning to Italy in 1824.
The Fauj-i-Khas was a brigade of the Fauj-i-Ain section of the Sikh Khalsa Army of Punjab. It consisted of very experienced elites and had separate flag and emblem. It was strictly disciplined on French pattern. All the equipment and weapons were of the best type. It grew to be the best organised section of the regular army (Fauj-i-Ain)
The Battle of Chillianwala was fought in January 1849 during the Second Anglo-Sikh War in the Chillianwala region of Punjab, now part of modern-day Pakistan. The battle was one of the bloodiest fought by the British East India Company. Both armies held their positions at the end of the battle and both sides claimed victory. The battle was a strategic check to immediate British ambitions in India and a shock to British military prestige.
The Sikh Empire was a regional power based in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent. It existed from 1799, when Maharaja Ranjit Singh captured Lahore, to 1849, when it was defeated and conquered by the British East India Company in the Second Anglo-Sikh War. It was forged on the foundations of the Khalsa from a collection of autonomous misls. At its peak in the 19th century, the empire extended from Gilgit and Tibet in the north to the deserts of Sindh in the south and from the Khyber Pass in the west to the Sutlej in the east as far as Oudh. It was divided into four provinces: Lahore, which became the Sikh capital; Multan; Peshawar; and Kashmir from 1799 to 1849. Religiously diverse, with an estimated population of 4.5 million in 1831, it was the last major region of the Indian subcontinent to be annexed by the British Empire.
The Battle of Sobraon was fought on 10 February 1846, between the forces of the East India Company and the Sikh Khalsa Army, the army of the Sikh Empire of the Punjab. The Sikhs were completely defeated, making this the decisive battle of the First Anglo-Sikh War.
The Battle of Aliwal was fought on 28 January 1846 between the British and Sikh forces in northern India. The British were led by Sir Harry Smith, while the Sikhs were led by Ranjodh Singh Majithia. Britain's victory in the battle is sometimes regarded as the turning point in the First Anglo-Sikh War.
The Sikh Khalsa Army, also known as Khalsaji or simply Sikh Army, was the military force of the Sikh Empire. With its roots in the Khalsa founded by Guru Gobind Singh, the army was later modernised on Franco-British principles by Maharaja Ranjit Singh. It was divided in three wings: the Fauj-i-Khas (elites), Fauj-i-Ain and Fauj-i-Be Qawaid (irregulars). Due to the lifelong efforts of the Maharaja and his European officers, it gradually became a prominent fighting force of Asia. Ranjit Singh changed and improved the training and organisation of his army. He reorganized responsibility and set performance standards in logistical efficiency in troop deployment, manoeuvre, and marksmanship. He reformed the staffing to emphasize steady fire over cavalry and guerrilla warfare, improved the equipment and methods of war. The military system of Ranjit Singh combined the best of both old and new ideas. He strengthened the infantry and the artillery. He paid the members of the standing army from treasury, instead of the Mughal method of paying an army with local feudal levies.
Lieutenant General Harbaksh Singh, VrC was a senior General Officer in the Indian Army. As the Western Army Commander, Singh commanded the Indian Army forces and played a key role during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965. For his role in the war, he was awarded the Padma Vibhushan in 1966.
French Sikhs are a growing but minority group in France. It is estimated there are about 30,000 Sikhs, most of whom are based in Paris, Bobigny and Île-de-France.
Sir Frederick Currie, 1st Baronet was a British diplomat, who had a distinguished career in the British East India Company and the Indian Civil Service. His posts included Foreign Secretary to the Government of India, Member of the Supreme Council of India, Resident at Lahore and Chairman of the East India Company.
The Afghan–Sikh Wars spanned from 1748 to 1837 in the Indian subcontinent, and saw multiple phases of fighting between the Durrani Empire and the Sikh Empire, mainly in and around Punjab region. The conflict's origins stemmed from the days of the Dal Khalsa, and continued after the Emirate of Kabul succeeded the Durrani Empire.
Tej Singh was a Sikh commander in the Sikh Empire. He was appointed as Commander in chief of the Sikh Khalsa Army during the First Anglo-Sikh War.
Ilahi Bakhsh was a Punjabi general who served in the Sikh Khalsa Fauj for over forty years and was regarded as one of the best artillery officers.
François Henri Mouton was a French Army officer. In his early career he served in the Garde du Corps and the Spahis, reaching the rank of captain before being placed on half-pay in 1838.
Sultan Mahmud Khan was a commander of the Sikh Khalsa Army, the army of Sarkar e Khalsa. His derah of artillery was designated as Topkhana Sultan Mahmud. He is regarded as one of the best commanding officers of Maharaja Ranjit Singh.
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