Foy, Belgium

Foy
St. Barbara Chapel
Coordinates: 50°03′N 05°45′E / 50.050°N 5.750°E / 50.050; 5.750
Country	Belgium
Region	Walloon Region
Community	French Community
Province	Luxembourg
Arrondissement	Bastogne
Municipality	Bastogne
Population (1 January 2008)
• Total	192
Postal codes	6600
Area codes	061

Foy (pronounced: [foj]) is a village in Belgium, near Bastogne.

Foy is in the Ardennes Forest region, an area of more than 11,000 square kilometers. It is largely in what today is Wallonia, the Walloons French-speaking area of southern Belgium, but it extends into France, Germany, and Luxembourg. The American 101st Airborne Division held the Bois Jacques (Jacques Woods), part of the Ardennes Forest, just outside Foy and up a slight rise toward Bastogne.

In World War II, Foy was heavily occupied by German forces during the Battle of the Bulge. The U.S. 101st Airborne Division held the Bois Jacques just outside town. After being relieved by General George S. Patton's U.S. Third Army, the 101st retook the town. The assault, spearheaded by Easy Company, part of the 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, was depicted in the HBO mini-series Band of Brothers.

Foy was a small village occupied by the Germans in the early stages of the Battle of the Bulge. It is 4 kilometers to the north of Bastogne on the road to Houffalize.

The 101st Airborne Division held the Bois Jacques or Jacques Woods, up a slight rise outside Foy. Stephen Ambrose's book Band of Brothers describes how Easy Company of the 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry led the assault to capture the town in January, 1945. The 506th, including Easy Company, initially commanded by First lieutenant Norman Dike, attacked Foy. They lost several men in the initial charge. During the January 1945 assault, which included Easy Company, Dike had ordered a platoon to go on a flanking mission around the rear of the town.