Iconic of past wars, a severely fortified medieval castle has for centuries loomed over this city.
It was Nico's turn to drive. From Montelimar, they headed northeast to the small town of Crest, located at the corner of Montelimar Battle Square, the site of the 1944 Battle of Montelimar. Near the town of Crest, flow the Drome River, the Roubion River, and The Rhone, the intended route of the German 19th Army's flight north after the Allied landings during Operation Dragoon.
Beginning on August 20, 1944, occupying the high ground in the hills above Crest -- with tanks, tank destroyers, anti-tank guns, artillery vehicles, and armored trucks and jeeps, an ad hoc combat-seasoned armored brigade, under the command of US Brigadier General Fred Butler and accompanied by the French Forces of the Interior (FFI) -- was waiting to cut-off the path of the retreating German 19th Army.
With a only a force of probably about 4,000 men -- and with German 19th Army units present in unknown locations in the surrounding hills -- Butler's situation was precarious.
The medieval tower that dominates the town of Crest was visible from the cafe, where Nico and Jack were waiting for the arrival of three FFI veterans of the Battle of Montelimar. It was Saturday; Jack and Nico sat amidst the weekly market crowd and colorful stalls that offered cheeses, grapes, roasted tomatoes, eggplants, wild mushrooms, loaves of bread, rich pastries, and wines from local wineries.
Like a mirage of archival photographs of battle-hardened World War II FFI guerillas, three men wearing weathered French berets emerged from the market day crowd. They strode to the table where Nico and Jack were sitting, surrounded by French pastry.