1 Conquest of the Punjab, 89
2 Frenchman, raised and commanded a regiment of
3 dragoons which formed part of the Fouj Khds.
4 General Court commanded the Gurkha regiments, and
5 Colonel Gardner, an Irishman, was employed in the
6 artillery. Altogether Ranjit Singh employed some
7 twenty European officers, some of whom, like General
8 Avitabile, who was placed in charge of the Peshawar
9 district, were employed in administrative work.
10 They were all well paid, and enjoyed the considera-
11 tion and confidence of the Maharaja. On the death
12 of the latter the majority of them resigned, or were
13 dismissed by the sirdars, who became jealous of their
14 powers. The employment of these officers increased
15 enormously the efficiency of Ranjit Singh's army, and
16 had not a little to do with the success of his later
17 campaigns, though the chief command in time of war,
18 if not taken by himself, was always entrusted to one
19 of his own sirdars. Amongst the latter there were
20 generals of great ability, such as Diwan Mokham
21 Chand, who was commander-in-chief from 1806 till
22 his death in 1814 ; Misr Diwan Chand, who captured
23 Multan in 1818; Sirdar Attar Singh, known for his
24 great strength and courage as the champion of the
25 Khalsa ; Sirdar Fateh Singh, Sirdar Hari Singh, and
26 many others.
27 After the conclusion of the treaty with the British,
28 Ranjit Singh first turned his attention to the hill-
29 fortress of Kangra, which the Gurkhas, under their
30 leader Ummar Singh, were then endeavouring to
31 wrest from its rightful possessor, Raja Sansar Chand
32 of Katoch. The Raja, hard pressed, and worn out by
33 a long siege, called on the Sikhs to assist him, a step