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 pre-emptive strike into Thailand which 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. Mini Matador As an alternative to 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 effectively block the road from Pattani, thereby ensuring the security of 11th Indian Infantry Division's lines of communication and retreat. 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 they were fast enough, they could even cut the 11th Indian Division off entirely. Forces British Commonwealth Forces It 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: 3/16th Punjab Regiment - Lt. Col. Henry Dawson Moorhead 5/14th Punjab Regiment - Lt. Col. Cyril Lovesy Lawrence Stokes ( in captivity on 15 February 1942 following the Battle of Slim River) 10th Indian Mountain Battery - Major D.G.C. Cowie 45th Field Company, Royal Bombay Sappers & Miners - Major J.R. Dinwiddie 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 under its designated strength 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. The column's objective was a six-mile (10 km) stretch of road cut through a steep