This backlash took place in Van from 1915-1918. The first orders to send Armenians on marches were sent and the first villages were being attacked, but the Armenian leaders of Van said," Better that some villages be burned and destroyed unavenged then give the slightest pretext to the Muslims for a general massacre." So the residences Van stayed strong and did not fight back. The Turks then tried to get rid of all the high ranking people in Van to show the residence that it is not a safe place to hold a resistance. On April 20th a woman was seized by soldiers two Armenians tried to help her and were shot. The Armenians then attacked the group of soldiers. The Turkish leader then gave the Turks the order to attack the city with artillery. The Armenians defended the city with all their might but realized they were at several disadvantages, they had fewer people (even though small groups of refugees entered the city to help out) and not very much ammunition. So they asked the Russians to sends some troops to help them out and they did. To try to waste the Turks amo they would set up decoys.
Due to the number of russian troops and armenian refugees, a city that once housed 50,000 people now housed about 250,000. They were successfully defending their city. But the russian troops tried to flank and it failed they lost many soldiers and the general ordered a retreat back to russia. 200,000 Armenians fled with them. It is estimated that 40,000 Armenians died on the journey. In the city of Van and a couple neighboring ones the population had dropped from 575,000 to approximately 339,000. The population of Muslims in the area dropped from 313,000 to 194,000.
We can never overlook the atrocities that happened both to the Turks and Armenians during this war, but I would much rather be fighting for my freedom than walking a death march. These Armenians fought for what they believed was right and I wish to have an ounce of the courage that all of the Armenians in the genocide possess.
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