Defense of Van (1915)

Defense of Van
	Part of the Caucasus Campaign of World War I and the Armenian genocide
	; Armenian fighters holding a defense line against Ottoman forces in the walled city of Van, May 1915.
Date	19 April – 17 May 1915
Location	Van, Ottoman Empire
Result	Armenian victory
Belligerents
Ottoman Empire	Armenian fedayi
Commanders and leaders
Djevdet Bey; Halil Bey; Köprülü Kâzım Bey; Rafael de Nogales	Aram Manukian; Armenak Yekarian; Vana Ishkhan
Strength
5,000	1,300
Casualties and losses
Unknown but heavy[according to whom?]	Unknown
	55,000 Armenian civilians massacred

The defense of Van (Armenian: Վանի հերոսամարտ Vani herosamart) was the armed resistance of the Armenian population of Van against the Ottoman Empire's attempts to massacre the Ottoman Armenian population of the Van Vilayet in the 1915 Armenian genocide.^[5]^[6] Several contemporaneous observers and later historians have concluded that the Ottoman government deliberately instigated an armed Armenian resistance in the city^[7]^[8] and then used this insurgency as the main pretext to justify beginning the deportation and slaughter of Armenians throughout the empire.^[9] Witness reports agree that the Armenian posture at Van was defensive and an act of resistance to massacre.^[10]^[11] The self-defense action is frequently cited in Armenian genocide denial literature; it has become "the alpha and omega of the plea of 'military necessity'" to excuse the genocide and portray the persecution of Armenians as justified.^[12]

^ Gilbert, Sir Martin (2004). Winter, Jay (ed.). America and the Armenian Genocide of 1915. Cambridge University Press. p. 14. ISBN 1139450182.
^ Hovannisian 1997, p. 251.
^ Morgenthau 1918, p. 227.
^ Balakian 2004, p. 207.
^ Balakian 2004, p. 208.
^ Herbert Adams Gibbons, Armenia in the World War, 1926. Link Archived 4 September 2018 at the Wayback Machine.
^ A-Dō (Ter Martirosyan), 1867-1954, Hovhannes (2017). Van 1915 : the great events of Vasbouragan. Sarafian, Ara. London: Gomidas Institute. pp. 98–134. ISBN 9781909382374. OCLC 1013977931.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
^ Erickson 2001, p. 99.
^ Akçam 2006, p. 200: 'The Van uprising deserves to be examined separately, for regardless of the fact that it took place after the secret deportation and extermination decisions were made...'
^ Akçam 2007, p. 201.
^ Dadrian 2002, p. 67.
^ Ihrig, Stefan (2016). Justifying Genocide: Germany and the Armenians from Bismarck to Hitler. Harvard University Press. p. 109. ISBN 978-0-674-50479-0. Still today, this alleged uprising in Van holds a central place in the denialist and justificationalist arguments.16 It also served as a pretext and a justification for anti-Armenian measures at the time, not just in Van itself, but in general. It epitomized and once more "proved" the alleged treacherousness of the Ottoman Armenians—it became, as Vahakn Dadrian put it, "the alpha and omega of the plea of 'military necessity.' "

[1] Gilbert, Sir Martin (2004). Winter, Jay (ed.). America and the Armenian Genocide of 1915. Cambridge University Press. p. 14. ISBN 1139450182.

[FOOTNOTEHovannisian1997251-2] Hovannisian 1997, p. 251.

[FOOTNOTEMorgenthau1918227-3] Morgenthau 1918, p. 227.

[FOOTNOTEBalakian2004207-4] Balakian 2004, p. 207.

[FOOTNOTEBalakian2004208-5] Balakian 2004, p. 208.

[gib-6] Herbert Adams Gibbons, Armenia in the World War, 1926. Link Archived 4 September 2018 at the Wayback Machine.

[7] A-Dō (Ter Martirosyan), 1867-1954, Hovhannes (2017). Van 1915 : the great events of Vasbouragan. Sarafian, Ara. London: Gomidas Institute. pp. 98–134. ISBN 9781909382374. OCLC 1013977931.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)

[FOOTNOTEErickson200199-8] Erickson 2001, p. 99.

[FOOTNOTEAkçam2006200-9] Akçam 2006, p. 200: 'The Van uprising deserves to be examined separately, for regardless of the fact that it took place after the secret deportation and extermination decisions were made...'

[FOOTNOTEAkçam2007201-10] Akçam 2007, p. 201.

[FOOTNOTEDadrian200267-11] Dadrian 2002, p. 67.

[12] Ihrig, Stefan (2016). Justifying Genocide: Germany and the Armenians from Bismarck to Hitler. Harvard University Press. p. 109. ISBN 978-0-674-50479-0. Still today, this alleged uprising in Van holds a central place in the denialist and justificationalist arguments.16 It also served as a pretext and a justification for anti-Armenian measures at the time, not just in Van itself, but in general. It epitomized and once more "proved" the alleged treacherousness of the Ottoman Armenians—it became, as Vahakn Dadrian put it, "the alpha and omega of the plea of 'military necessity.' "

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