the Defense of longchamps

The World War 2 Guys held our 2nd Annual overnight foxhole event on Friday, December 26 just outside Ft. Calhoun, Nebraska.  In attendance were Matt, Eric, Casey, and his brother Dan.  For the event we portrayed the men of Fox Company, 502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division.  Our scenario was the defense of the town of Longchamps where 2/502 set up a defensive perimeter northwest of Bastogne.  Matt and I were dropped by truck into the field around 1600 and quickly set about to finding a defensible position.  Together we dug a two man foxhole which we later realized should have been about a foot longer and a foot deeper.  We met up with Casey and Dan at about 1730 before they established their CP on a ridgeline to the east of our position.  The four of us did a combined patrol in the early evening probing for the German lines without success.  Then around 2000 the snow began to fall.  Winds were steady around 14 mph the rest of the night with wind chills dropping into the mid-teens.  It was cold and it was miserable - a perfect winter reenactment!  Matt and I ran numerous patrols throughout the remainder of the night mostly to keep warm.  The morning dawned around 0700 and the four of us packed up and moved to our rendezvous point to the west.  This was the kind of event that really enhances your appreciation for what our guys went through at the Battle of the Bulge.  It's hard to imagine living like this for weeks on end but they did it!