Footsteps of WWII · Belgium & Luxembourg

Bois Jacques foxholes, Foy

Battlefield · Dec 1944 – 13 Jan 1945

The story

During the siege, Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, held foxholes in the Bois Jacques as part of the Bastogne perimeter, facing German-held Foy. The men endured snow, shortages and German tree bursts that showered splinters and shrapnel into their holes. On 24 December about 45 Germans attacked the position and were beaten off, for one American casualty. On 13 January 1945 the company attacked out of the wood to retake Foy. Their story became widely known through Stephen E. Ambrose's book Band of Brothers and the television series. A memorial on the Bizory–Foy road honours the company and 14 of its men killed in the area.

What to look for

From the Easy Company memorial on the Bizory–Foy road, paths lead into the managed pine wood where the hollows of foxholes are still visible. Stay on the paths and leave anything you find. Look out across the open ground towards Foy, which the company attacked in January 1945.

Plan your visit

Public woodland, free and open at all times; park near the memorial. The Bastogne War Museum's Bois Jacques Battlefield trail, with six geolocated 360° videos in an app, is included in a museum ticket. Wear boots outside summer.

Nearby sites

• Bastogne War Museum · 2 km
• Recogne German war cemetery · 2 km
• Mardasson Memorial, Bastogne · 3 km
• Bastogne Barracks (McAuliffe's HQ) · 3 km
• Houffalize and its Panther tank · 11 km
• National Museum of Military History, Diekirch · 34 km

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