taus@HEL-FIRE.BRL.MIL (Richard A. Tauson) (09/20/89)
From: Richard A. Tauson <taus@HEL-FIRE.BRL.MIL>
I have a historical inquiry, with a bit of history. My
grandmother is trying to piece together my grandfather's history
(he is several years deceased) and has hit an interesting brick wall.
He served with the White Russian fleet in the Mediteranian Sea
during the last stages of the Russian Revolution. During this period
he spent some time in a mountain strong hold call Bushel Kabeer
(spelling is phonetic, Bu zell' ka bEr') in Tunisia.
I have been unable to find any references to this place
in historical texts, and my grandmothers inquiries to Tunisia
have been of the flavor of "Oh, you're more interested in (5 favorite
tourist spots)".
My questions are (1) are there any historcal sources that
you can recommend? I am interested in the site in general and
its role in the period of the Russian revolution in particular.
(2) Is it possible that this is still an active military site?
This is the only reason I can think of for the frequent side-stepping
of inquieries, but it seems odd that defenses against early 1900
attack are still effective against modern weapons. Of course,
one thinks of mountain strong-holds as part of a by-gone era until
reminded of Cheyanne and Iron Mountains.
Richard A. Tauson
taus@hel-fire.brl.milmilitary@cbnews.ATT.COM (William B. Thacker) (09/24/89)
From: military@cbnews.ATT.COM (William B. Thacker) In article <27373@amdcad.AMD.COM> taus@HEL-FIRE.BRL.MIL (Richard A. Tauson) writes: > I have a historical inquiry, with a bit of history. My >grandmother is trying to piece together my grandfather's history >(he is several years deceased) and has hit an interesting brick wall. >He served with the White Russian fleet in the Mediteranian Sea >during the last stages of the Russian Revolution. During this period >he spent some time in a mountain strong hold call Bushel Kabeer >(spelling is phonetic, Bu zell' ka bEr') in Tunisia. Tunisia ? How'd he end up there ? I'd thought the Russian fleet pretty much kept to the Black Sea during the Revolution. Anyway, I'd suspect that the more common English spelling might be something like "Bus el Khebir" or "Buz el Kebeer". That's consistent with the names of other locations in Tunisia, and throughout North Africa; e.g., Mers el Khebir, Bir Hacheim, etc ("bir", I believe, means "oasis", or "waterhole". "Khebir" might mean a certain type of waterhole). However, I've checked my various maps of Tunisia, and drawn a blank. You might try the US Department of Geological Survey, which maintains fine-scale maps of the entire planet. If you can't find them, start with your local Department of Natural Resources. Good luck ! -- Bill Thacker Moderator, sci.military military-request@att.att.com (614) 860-5294 Send submissions to military@att.att.com