were organized. The Women's Union was founded at this time, mainly engaged in manufacturing clothing for combatants. In the face of imminent danger, representatives of various Armenian political parties (Ramkavar, Dashnaks) rallied together. The Van defenders numbered no more than 1500 combatants, who had only 505 rifles and 750 Mauser pistols and a small supply of ammunition. The Military Defense Authority issued orders to use ammunition with extra caution. The Aykesdan neighborhood was divided into 7 sectors of defense, with 79 distinct positions. Researcher Thomas De Waal states that "it has been called both a rebellion and a heroic act of resistance by Armenians against a government that intended to kill them" and "it had elements of both". Timeline The most important change during the defense of Van was the transfer of Governor Hasan Tahsin Pasha to Erzurum and his replacement with Djevdet Bey. Djevdet Bey was the brother-in-law of Enver Pasha, and was accompanied by Rafael de Nogales Méndez. De Nogales was assigned with the permission of the 3rd Army's commanding German officer to oversee the Ottoman Gendarmerie units under the new governor. The Armenian leaders were Aram Manukian, the regional party leader of Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF), Armenak Yekarian from the ranks of Armenakans, Nikoghayos Poghos Mikaelian (Ishkhan), a member of the ARF, and Arshak Vramian, he deputy of the Ottoman Parliament from Van. Vramian was also an old classmate of Djevdet's. Tahsin wrote to Talat Pasha on 13 May 1915: Djevdet's reign During July 1914, Arshak Vramian, the deputy of the Van province, attended the negotiations with the Committee of Union and Progress (CUP) as a liaison for the Armenian congress at Erzurum. The public conclusion of this congress was "Ostensibly conducted to peacefully advance Armenian demands by legitimate means". Armenian sources say that local Armenian leaders Aram Manukian, Arshak Vramian, Nikoghayos Poghos Mikaelian (Ishkhan), and Armenak Yekaryan told the Armenians of Van to remain loyal to the Ottoman government and not to antagonize it. The Turkish CUP regarded the Armenian congress as a seedbed for establishing the decision for the Turkish feared Armenian insurrection. Edward J. Erickson concluded that after this meeting, the CUP was convinced of strong Armenian-Russian links, with Erickson surmising that these links included detailed plans for the detachment of the region from the Ottoman Empire. Later, in September 1914, Turkish military operations, which included the search for arms, ammunition and operational documents,