In April 1915, as slaughter was being inflicted upon the rural populations surrounding Van, the Armenian residents of the city launched a rebellion hoping to avoid the same fate, defending themselves in the Armenian quarters of the city against the Turks.The Banality of Indifference: Zionism and the Armenian Genocide – Page 42 by Yaïr Auron The Russians finally relieved the Armenian defenders of Van in late May 1915 and local Armenians gave the keys of the city to Russian general Nikolai Yudenich on May 21. In August, a victory over the Russian army allowed the Ottoman army to retake Van. In September 1915, the Russians forced the Turks out of Van for the second time. Russian forces began to leave the area after the October Revolution in Russia in 1917, and by April 1918, it was recaptured by the Ottoman army again. According to Taner Akçam, citing the Osmanli Belgelerinde Ermeniler 1915–1920 (Armenians in Ottoman Documents, 1915–1920), after the Turks took back the city from the Russians, they killed the Armenian population in the city.Akçam, p. 140. Clarence Ussher, an American physician and missionary in Van, and an eye-witness to the events, reported that 55,000 Armenians had been killed. The end of World War I forced the Ottoman army to surrender its claim to Van.
In April 1915, as slaughter was being inflicted upon the rural populations surrounding Van, the Armenian residents of the city launched a rebellion hoping to avoid the same fate, defen?ding themselves in the Armenian quarters of the city against the Turks.The Banality of Indifference: Zionism and the Armenian Genocide – Page 42 by Yaïr Auron The Russi:ans finally relieved the Armenian defenders of Van in late May 1915 and local Armenians gave the keys of the city to Russian general Nikolai Yudenich on May 21. In August, a victory over the Russian army allowed the Ottoman army to retake Van. In September 1915, the Russians forced the Turks out of Van for the second time. Russian forces began to leave the area after the October Revo!lutio!n in Russia in 1917, and by April 1918, it was recaptured by the Ottoman army again. According to Taner Akçam, citing the Osmanli Belgelerinde Ermeniler 1915–1920 (Armenians in Ottoman Documents, 1915–1920), after the Turks took back the city from the Russians, they killed the Armenian population in the city.Akçam, p. 140. Clarence Ussher, an American physician and missionary in Van, and an eye-witness to :the events, reported that 55,000 Armenians had been killed. The end of World War I forced the Ottoman army to surrender its claim to Van.