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Operation Krohcol
Operation Krohcol, or the Battle for The Ledge, was a British operation in December 1941 to invade southern Thailand following the Japanese invasion of Malaya and of Thailand during World War II. It was authorised by Lieutenant-General Arthur Percival as a "mini Matador" after Operation Matador, a plan to advance into Thailand to forestall a Japanese invasion, that had been opposed by the British government and was not carried out. Due to delays in authorisation by Percival and in the forwarding of his order, the need to reorganise the troops for Krohcol instead of Matador, and resistance from Thai policemen the Kroh column did not reach the Ledge in time.
As an alternative to Operation Matador, three ad hoc columns were put together to harass and delay the Japanese advance from their beachheads at Songkhla and Pattani.
Krohcol was the most important of the three. Krohcol was tasked with the destruction of the feature known as the Ledge. Destruction of the Ledge would block the road from Pattani, ensuring the security of the lines of communication and retreat of the 11th Indian Infantry Division. For the Japanese, capture of the Ledge would allow them access to the rear areas of the 11th Indian Division, either forcing the British to retreat from Perak and Kedah or if posibly cutting off the 11th Indian Division.
The British force was named Krohcol as it was operating from the town of Kroh at the Perak–Thailand border and 'col' is short for column (meaning battle group).
The original Krohcol was to consist of:
The column that departed Kroh consisted of men from the 3/16th Punjab and some engineers under the command of Lt Col Henry Moorhead, carried in the Marmon-Herrington AWD trucks of the 2nd/3rd Australian Motor Transport Company under Major G.A.C. Kiernan. Krohcol was understrength and delayed due to a second battalion the 5/14th Punjab Regiment and a light artillery battery failing to arrive on time. The column left without them for a 6 mi (9.7 km) stretch of road cut through a steep hillside and bounded on the other side by sheer drop into a river and known as The Ledge. Collapsing the hillside on to the road would cause the Japanese invasion force considerable delay.
Opposing this Commonwealth invasion force was the resistance of the policemen and volunteers from Betong under Major Prayoon Rattanakit, who caused further delays to the column. The Thai Police were, at the same time combating the Japanese 5th Division at Pattani, prior to a ceasefire between the two sides.
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Operation Krohcol
Operation Krohcol, or the Battle for The Ledge, was a British operation in December 1941 to invade southern Thailand following the Japanese invasion of Malaya and of Thailand during World War II. It was authorised by Lieutenant-General Arthur Percival as a "mini Matador" after Operation Matador, a plan to advance into Thailand to forestall a Japanese invasion, that had been opposed by the British government and was not carried out. Due to delays in authorisation by Percival and in the forwarding of his order, the need to reorganise the troops for Krohcol instead of Matador, and resistance from Thai policemen the Kroh column did not reach the Ledge in time.
As an alternative to Operation Matador, three ad hoc columns were put together to harass and delay the Japanese advance from their beachheads at Songkhla and Pattani.
Krohcol was the most important of the three. Krohcol was tasked with the destruction of the feature known as the Ledge. Destruction of the Ledge would block the road from Pattani, ensuring the security of the lines of communication and retreat of the 11th Indian Infantry Division. For the Japanese, capture of the Ledge would allow them access to the rear areas of the 11th Indian Division, either forcing the British to retreat from Perak and Kedah or if posibly cutting off the 11th Indian Division.
The British force was named Krohcol as it was operating from the town of Kroh at the Perak–Thailand border and 'col' is short for column (meaning battle group).
The original Krohcol was to consist of:
The column that departed Kroh consisted of men from the 3/16th Punjab and some engineers under the command of Lt Col Henry Moorhead, carried in the Marmon-Herrington AWD trucks of the 2nd/3rd Australian Motor Transport Company under Major G.A.C. Kiernan. Krohcol was understrength and delayed due to a second battalion the 5/14th Punjab Regiment and a light artillery battery failing to arrive on time. The column left without them for a 6 mi (9.7 km) stretch of road cut through a steep hillside and bounded on the other side by sheer drop into a river and known as The Ledge. Collapsing the hillside on to the road would cause the Japanese invasion force considerable delay.
Opposing this Commonwealth invasion force was the resistance of the policemen and volunteers from Betong under Major Prayoon Rattanakit, who caused further delays to the column. The Thai Police were, at the same time combating the Japanese 5th Division at Pattani, prior to a ceasefire between the two sides.