Mercol was a flying column

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....

 created by the British Army

British Army

The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...

 shortly after the Anglo-Iraqi War

Anglo-Iraqi War

The Anglo-Iraqi War was the name of the British campaign against the rebel government of Rashid Ali in the Kingdom of Iraq during the Second World War. The war lasted from 2 May to 31 May 1941. The campaign resulted in the re-occupation of Iraq by British armed forces and the return to power of the...

 had ended.

Creation and composition

Mercol was a truck-borne

Motorised infantry

In NATO and most other western countries, motorised infantry is infantry which is transported by trucks or other motor vehicles. It is distinguished from mechanized infantry, which is carried in armoured personnel carriers, infantry combat vehicles, or infantry fighting vehicles...

 flying column created in early June 1941 specifically with the task of rounding up irregular troops under Fawzi al-Qawuqji

Fawzi Al-Qawuqji

Fawzi al-Qawuqji was the field commander of the Arab Liberation Army during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War in Palestine, and a rival of the principal Palestinian Arab leader, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, Haj Amin al-Husseini.-Biography:...

. In addition to Mercol, two other columns were created in early July. Gocol

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 specifically to pursue and capture Dr. Fritz Grobba, the German Ambassador to the Kingdom of Iraq...

, commanded by Major

Major

Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...

 R. E. S. Gooch, with the task of capturing Dr. Fritz Grobba

Fritz Grobba

Fritz Konrad Ferdinand Grobba is best remembered for being a German diplomat during the interwar period and World War II.-Biography:...

, the German

Nazi Germany

Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...

 Ambassador to the Kingdom of Iraq

Kingdom of Iraq

The Kingdom of Iraq was the sovereign state of Iraq during and after the British Mandate of Mesopotamia. The League of Nations mandate started in 1920. The kingdom began in August 1921 with the coronation of Faisal bin al-Hussein bin Ali al-Hashemi as King Faisal I...

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

Kirkuk

Kirkuk is a city in Iraq and the capital of Kirkuk Governorate.It is located in the Iraqi governorate of Kirkuk, north of the capital, Baghdad...

.

Mercol was named for its commander, Major E. J. H. Merry. The column comprised A Squadron of the Household Cavalry Regiment

Household Cavalry Regiment

The Household Cavalry Regiment is a cavalry regiment of the British Army, and is one of two regiments that are formed from the Household Cavalry. It was formed in 1992, under the Options for Change reforms, by the amalgamation of The Life Guards and the Blues and Royals. Both regiments were...

, two Royal Air Force

Royal Air Force

The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...

 armoured cars

Rolls-Royce Armoured Car

The Rolls-Royce armoured car was a British armoured car developed in 1914 and used in World War I and in the early part of World War II.-Production history:...

, and two antique 5.5 inch (18 pounder) field guns from the Habbaniya arsenal. Merry and his command took enough fuel, rations, and water for one week.

See also

• Iraqforce
  Iraqforce
  Iraqforce was a British and Commonwealth formation that came together in the Kingdom of Iraq. The formation fought in the Middle East during World War II.-Background:...
  
  
• Habforce
  Habforce
  Habforce was a British Army military unit created during the Anglo-Iraqi War and still active during the Syria-Lebanon Campaign.-Creation and composition:...
  
  
• Kingcol
  Kingcol
  -Creation and composition:Kingcol was created to allow a portion of Habforce to relieve RAF Habbaniya as soon as possible. The column was named after its commander, Brigadier J.J. Kingstone...
  
  
• Gocol
  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 specifically to pursue and capture Dr. Fritz Grobba, the German Ambassador to the Kingdom of Iraq...
  
  
• Harcol
• 4th Cavalry Brigade
  4th Cavalry Brigade (United Kingdom)
  The 4th Cavalry Brigade was formation of Regiments of the British Army during the First World War, which was formed again in 1939 from Yeomanry Regiments for service during the Second World War...
  
  
• Flying Column
  Flying Column
  Flying Column was the name adopted by a group of Irish traditional musicians and singers who formed a folk band in Belfast around 1967/68. They took their name from the small tight cells that comprised the IRA active service units during the Anglo-Irish war of 1916-1921.-Name:Sammy Largey, the...