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On December 16th, 1944, at 05:30, the Battle of the Bulge is underway. The German army, having discreetly gathered troops, tanks, and other artillery along the Belgian border (east of the country), rapidly advances into Belgium. Their goal is to reach the port of Antwerp to disrupt the supply lines of the Allied troops. To accomplish this, the troops, are attempting a sweeping movement from east to west Belgium, aiming to then head north.
In response, the Belgian 5 Special Air Service receive orders from Lieutenant Charles Radino on December 19th, 1944, to depart Tervuren (after parachute operations in France and Belgium from July to September 1944) and regroup in Givet (in France, just across the border). Prepared for the Belgians are 24 specially equipped European Style Special Air Service Jeeps (3 men per jeep), featuring 3 Vickers machine guns, a long-range rifle, armored glass for the pilot and co-pilot, and 2 extra fuel tanks, along with two trucks carrying all available squads.
Their first mission is to return to Belgium along the Meuse River to prevent the Germans from destroying the bridges. A Special Air Service squad successfully intercepts a jeep from the Skorzeny group, Einheit Stielau, heading to Dinant. Around December 23rd, 1944, the Special Air Service transfer to Tellin/Bure to serve not only as the eyes and ears of the Allied troops but also to disrupt the enemy west of Bastogne. They patrol the entire regions of Tellin, Bure, Belvaux, Daverdisse, Han-sur-Lesse, Froidchapelle, Rochefort, eliminating German resistance pockets.
The most intense actions are occurring on December 31st, 1944 (with the loss of 3 Belgian Special Air Service troopers near Bure) and on January 4th, 1945, in the village of Tellin-Bure. Belgian Special Air Service, as well as British paratroopers and tank crews, engage in fierce combat with German troops. House-to-house fighting becomes extremely violent, resulting in over 100 British casualties.
The weather conditions are harsh, with wind, snow, and ice forcing the Special Air Service to smear their faces with grease to protect against the cold, with temperatures sometimes reaching -18° Celsius. Lieutenant Charles Radino, responsible for Operation Regent, is also the first to discover the civilian massacre in the village of Bande at the end of December 1944. The Special Air Service eventually leave the region after January 16th, 1945, as the enemy forces are definitively driven back into Germany. Eternal respect is due to our heroes. They remain alive as long as we remember them. It is noteworthy that French Special Air Service units are also deployed in the same region west of Bastogne.
