The limit of the German advance was reached on 25th December and from the 26th December the German army started to withdraw. Bastogne was reached and relieved by the US 3rd Army from the south. 11th Armoured Division was replaced by the British 6th Airborne, having pushed the enemy back from Celles near Beauraing, the tip of the salient.
61st Reconnaissance Regiment remained in the Ardennes and Dick’s troop shot five Germans on 26th December.
Eric Postles remembers further action in the Ardennes:
"We moved up to Celles, Houffalize and Rochefort. With the weather improving our planes were able to give support and break up the enemy attack. We once helped a farmer with a difficult calving for which he was most grateful. The snow was so deep we didn’t have to worry about mines.
One incident of note was when 13 Troop of our Squadron came across a King Tiger (the biggest and newest of the German tanks) and its crew surrendered after its commander was shot by the troop’s sniper when he put his head out of the turret." (Extract from ‘My War Years’ by John Eric Postles ISO used by kind permission of the author.)
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