began. On 20 October 1914, the Turkish 4th Reserve Cavalry Regiment, patrolling Hasankale, reportedly discovered rifles hidden in Armenian homes. During this period, large numbers of Armenians with weapons were moving into Mush, Bitlis, and Van. Erickson concluded that "before the war began, indicators of potentially violent intent accumulated, as the authorities found bombs and weapons hidden in Armenian homes". On the other hand, Nogales witnessed Ottoman army units photographing their own weapons and merely claiming that they had been found in Armenian houses and churches. As early as 5 November 1914, a major attack by the Russians on the 3rd Army's defensive lines in the Van Province was under way. This offensive complicated Turkish perceptions of Armenian intentions. The Russians began larger operations toward Saray and Van by 19 November. In November, the Turkish Gendarmerie units of the provincial security apparatus of the Governors changed hands, reverting to Turkish military command. This change included the units commanded by the governor of Van. The Van Gendarmerie and Van reserve cavalry divisions were assigned to the Third Army. The Van Gendarmerie Division was placed under the command of Major Ferid, while Governor Djevdet kept only a small contingent. During December 1914, Djevdet Bey issued orders to secure the west of the province of Van, as Ottoman forces moved to start the Persian Campaign. CUP negotiators were sent to Erzurum and Van before Djevdet Bey left the city. These negotiators and Djevdet Bey wanted to test the loyalty of the Van Armenians. After their first attempt with the Armenian Congress, they wanted to see once again if they would agree to stage an uprising in Russian Armenia. Djevdet demanded that Armenians furnish 4,000 volunteers, according to conscription in the Ottoman Empire. The Armenians refused to do this. Clarence Ussher states that "it was clear that Djevdet's goals were to massacre the able bodied men of Van so as there would be no defenders, as he had done in the villages under the pretexts of arms searches, searches that had turned into massacres. The Armenians, parlaying to gain time, offered to furnish five hundred soldiers and to pay exemption money for the rest." The Armenian conscription became an issue again when Djevdet returned to the city in April, during the Armenian Easter of 1915. Djevdet asked one more time for the Armenians to furnish conscripts to be used for the establishment of Ottoman