Mercol was a

flying column A flying column is a small, independent, military land unit capable of rapid mobility and usually composed of all arms. It is often an ''ad hoc'' unit, formed during the course of operations. The term is usually, though not necessarily, appl ...

created by the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

shortly after the

Anglo-Iraqi War The Anglo-Iraqi War was a British-led Allies of World War II, Allied military campaign during the Second World War against the Kingdom of Iraq, then ruled by Rashid Ali al-Gaylani who had seized power in the 1941 Iraqi coup d'état with assista ...

had ended.

Creation and composition

''Mercol'' was a truck-borne flying column created in early June 1941 to round up irregular troops under Fawzi al-Qawuqji. Named after its commander, Major E. J. H. Merry, the column comprised A Squadron of the Household Cavalry Regiment, two

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

Rolls-Royce Armoured Car The Rolls-Royce armoured car is a British armoured car developed in 1914 and used during the First World War, Irish Civil War, the inter-war period in Imperial Air Control in Transjordan, Palestine and Mesopotamia, and in the early stages of the ...

s and two antique 18-pounder field guns from the Habbaniya arsenal. Merry and his command carried enough fuel, rations and water for one week. In addition to Mercol, two other columns were created in early July;

Gocol Gocol was a flying column created by the British Army shortly after the Anglo–Iraqi War had ended. Creation and composition ''Gocol'' was a truck-borne flying column created in early June 1941, to pursue and capture Dr. Fritz Grobba, the Ge ...

, commanded by Major R. E. S. Gooch, with the task of capturing Dr.

Fritz Grobba Fritz Konrad Ferdinand Grobba (18 July 1886 – 2 September 1973) was a German diplomat during the interwar period and World War II. Early life He was born in Gartz on the Oder in the Province of Brandenburg, Germany. His parents were Rudolf Grob ...

, the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

Ambassador to the

Kingdom of Iraq The Hashemite Kingdom of Iraq was the Iraqi state located in the Middle East from 1932 to 1958. It was founded on 23 August 1921 as the Kingdom of Iraq, following the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in the Mesopotamian campaign of the First World W ...

and Harcol, under Major R. J. Hardy, with the task of securing

Kirkuk Kirkuk (; ; ; ) is a major city in northern Iraq, serving as the capital of the Kirkuk Governorate. The city is home to a diverse population of Kurds, Iraqi Turkmen, Iraqi Turkmens and Arabs. Kirkuk sits on the ruins of the original Kirkuk Cit ...

Notes

References

* * in

External links

* Ad hoc units and formations of the British Army in World War II 1941 establishments in the United Kingdom 1941 disestablishments in the United Kingdom Military units and formations established in 1941 Military units and formations disestablished in 1941 Military history of Iraq Iraq–United Kingdom relations Anglo-Iraqi War {{UK-mil-unit-stub

Creation and composition

See also

Notes

References

External links