twenty years. Henry Morgenthau referring to Doctor Ussher, "after driving off the Turks, Russians cremated the bodies of Armenians who had been murdered in the province, with the result that 55,000 bodies were burned". The systematic massacre of 25,000 Armenians in the Bashkala district, of whom less than 10 per cent, were said to have escaped, appeared to have been ordered. Though Armenian refugees were the focus of attention of the Western powers and all the relief efforts, most of the Armenian deaths still occurred in the refugee camps, where the casualty rate was as high as 300–400 a day in the Russian Caucasus from starvation and diseases, as reported by the British Consul in the area. Atrocities Most of killings were attributed to Circassians and Kurds, although some reports state that Turkish troops also took part. Rafael De Nogales, a Venezuelan officer fighting for the Turks, mentions in his memoirs that Ottoman officials had received orders to exterminate all Armenian males of twelve years of age and older. According to Ussher, on 19 April, Djevdet issued an order throughout the Van province, which read: "The Armenians must be exterminated. If any Muslim protects a Christian, first, his house shall be burnt; then the Christian killed before his eyes, then his [the Muslim's] family and then himself." Djevdet was later accused of war crimes at the Turkish Courts-Martial of 1919–20 against the Armenians during operations around the city of Van during the spring of 1915. Cultural references The resistance occupies a significant place in Armenian national identity because it symbolizes the Armenians' will to resist. The 2002 film Ararat, directed, written, and co-produced by Atom Egoyan re-stages (with limited means) some fictionalized events of the defense of Van. Ararat won several awards. To commemorate the defenders of the battle a memorial was created during the 1970s in Soviet Armenia in Agarak, Talin village. See also Ottoman Armenian population Six vilayets Occupation of Turkish Armenia Notes References Bibliography Personal Accounts . Collections Recent publications . . . - Profile at Google Books . . . . . . . . . . . "Fresno Armenians", by Wilson Wallace, Ph.D. 1965 M (Michael) Minassian . . . . . . . . 1915 in Armenia 1915 in the Ottoman Empire Armenian resistance during the Armenian genocide Battles of the Caucasus Campaign Battles of World War I involving the Ottoman Empire Van vilayet