Resistance by Sason 1904

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The Sason Rebellion of 1904 ( Armenian Սասունի երկրորդ ապստամբութիւնը Sasuni yerkrord apstambut'yunĕ , literally Second Sason resistance was) from March to April of an uprising of Armenian fedayeen against the Ottoman government in the region Sason , today in the province of Batman in of Turkey . The imperial government wanted to prevent the formation of another semi-autonomous Armenian region in the Six Vilayets after their defeat in the First Zeytun Resistance . The Armenian National Liberation Movement recruited young Armenians in the Sason region, an area of ​​approximately 12,000 km² with a large Armenian majority - 1,769 Armenian and 155 Kurdish households. The region was in a "stage of revolutionary upheaval" as the local Christian Armenians had refused to pay their Islamic poll tax ( cizye ) for seven years . Although the cizye had already been abolished in the course of the Tanzimat reforms, the local Muslims continued to demand money and natural products from the Armenians.

Light gray bas-relief on church wall, with one representative of each side facing each other
Monument to the Sason Resistance in the Forty Martyrs Cathedral in Aleppo , Syria

The uprising, led by Hrayr Tjokhk and Andranik Ozanian , was put down and thousands of Armenians were killed. The 1,000 or so Armenian militia officers, with the support of a further 3,000 Armenians from Sason, were unable to put a stop to the 10,000 attacking Ottoman troops and 7,000 Kurds who were commanded by the Vali von Bitlis .

background

The Sason region (orange) and the Vilâyet Bitlis (yellow) .

The Huntschak Social Democratic Party (Hentschak) and the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Taschnaken) were two components of the Armenian National Liberation Movement that were active in the region. The Sason's First Resistance was provided by the Fedayeen (Armenian Volunteer Units) of the Armenian National Movement, who were part of the Huntschakists. The conflicts between the fedayeen and the Ottomans continued in the villages. Many Christian Armenians have been forced to adopt either Islam or Orthodox Christianity ; the latter was mainly promoted by the Russian consulate. The American missionary Cyrus Hamlin, who is active in the region, blamed the Armenian revolutionaries for the massacre of the Christian population in Sason.

In the spring of 1902, a representative of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF), Vahan Manvelyan, was sent to Sason to negotiate an armistice with the Turks , occupy the area and build up forces for a larger one, through Manvelyan and the local activist Hrayr Tjokhk rally led revolt. This consolidation continued through 1902 and 1903. In May 1903 a militia led by Gorgos “Marrik” arrived in Sason. Vahan and Hrayr considered them too small and asked for more troops. A group of 150 fedayeen led by Khan and Onik was sent. On the Persian - Turkish border, it was surrounded by Turkish artillery units and almost completely wiped out. In February 1903 the Armenian Revolutionary Federation in Sofia , Bulgaria, agreed to send troops to Sason.

The approach to Sason was prevented by a division of the 4th Corps of the Ottoman Army (eight battalions , later increased to 14). Its total effectiveness included more than 10,000 soldiers and police officers ( Zaptiye ), plus 6,000 to 7,000 Kurdish horsemen. The Armenian units consisted of 200 guerrileros under the command of Vahan, Hrayr and Andranik , along with Kevork Çavuş , Murad of Sebasteia , Keri and others. Farmers in 21 villages also armed themselves and added 1,000 people to the troops. Andranik and ten other fedayeen , including Hrayr and Sebouh , held a meeting in Gelieguzan village in the third quarter of 1903. Andranik suggested starting a general revolt in Armenia ( Taron and Vaspurakan ), which would disperse the Turkish units; Hrayr refused on the grounds that an Armenian revolt without the support of other peoples of the Ottoman Empire would be in vain, and suggested that the focus be on defending Sason.

Armed conflict

Kevork Çavuş took the first action against the local Kurds (Kor Slo) to forestall an attack on five Armenian villages in the Kurdish-occupied area. On January 17th, he and the groups of Murad von Sebasteia and Seyto attacked the Kurds who (together with Turkish troops) were withdrawing to Pasur .

The western branch of the Taschnaken and the Armenian Catholicos tried to put diplomatic pressure on Turkey. The Catholicos turned to the great powers ; the British and French ambassadors in Istanbul had audiences with Sultan Abdülhamid II , but the Russian ambassador stood apart. The Sultan promised to send armies to Sason to establish law and order. The ambassadors offered to negotiate with the insurgents in Sason on behalf of the Sultan. However, the Russian ambassador was late; when they got to Sason, the military action was already at its peak.

On March 20, the Turks had finished their preparations and the armies sacked numerous border villages which, under Hrayr's command, offered no resistance. Residents were captured and tortured , but the Ottomans learned nothing about the insurgents' plans. The Armenian action plan was: Hrayr would defend Aliank and Shenik; Andranik, in Tapyk, would prevent the Turks from advancing on Gelieguzan; Kevork Çavuş would defend Ishkhanadzor, and Murad of Sebasteia, Akop Kotoian and Makar Spagantsi would defend Chaji Glukh.

On April 2, the Turks began an unsuccessful major offensive with mountain guns . On April 10, the Vali des Vilâyet Bitlis arrived with troops and the Armenian bishops of Bitlis and Muş . The second battle began the very next day. Over 7,000 Turkish cavalrymen rode into the village of Shenik; the Armenians locked them in at the rear, mangled the Turks between the Armenian positions in front and to the right of the snow-capped mountains on the left. After a four-hour battle, the Turks gave up their horses and weapons and retreated into the mountains, hunted by the Armenians. On April 12th, the Holy Apostles Monastery presented a decree by the Catholicos in front of Arakel, calling on the Armenians to give up in return for an amnesty . The Armenian leaders, who asked for more time to respond, evacuated and burned several villages in Gelieguzan ( scorched earth ) overnight . At dusk on April 13th, the Turks began a new rush.

The defense was divided into two groups: one (under Sepukh and Murad of Sebasteia) went to Brlik, and another (under Hrayr) went to the mountains. Eight Turkish companies and 4,000 Kurdish horsemen attacked Gelieguzan, and Hrayr was killed at the beginning of the battle. Violent hand-to-hand combat began; from the eastern part of the village, Andranik and his troops beat the Turks from behind. The Turks withdrew and had (according to press reports) recorded only 136 deaths; the Armenians had seven dead and eight wounded.

On April 14th the Turks attacked with reinforcements without success; The day after tomorrow, April 16, the citizens of Ishkhanadzor withdrew to Talvorik. The Turks tried to cut them off, but with the help of local troops they broke through. The next day, the Turks launched a new attack, which was also repulsed. Finally, on April 20, the Turks surrounded Gelieguzan with a massive artillery bombardment , and the fedayeen (led by Andranik) retreated to Talvorik by night. Up to 20,000 people (the population of the five evacuated villages) fled - some to the mountains and others to the Muş plain - and were killed. Talvorik held out until May 6, when he fell victim to the Turkish reinforcement units. Two hundred fedayeen between Talvorik and Gelieguzan resisted until May 14, before withdrawing. The Turkish victory was accompanied by brutality:

“Women were stolen, their breasts slashed, their stomachs torn open, children staked, older people dismembered. Young girls went back in countless numbers ... since May 5th the Turkish armies in Berdakh, Mkragom, Alikrpo, Avazakhiubr and Arnist wiped out one village after another. "

After weeks of fighting and cannon bombing against Armenian villages (from Leon Trotsky's point of view ) the Ottoman units and Kurdish volunteers put down the uprising in May; their troop strength exceeded that of the Armenians many times over. Smaller clashes still took place afterwards.

According to different estimates, between 7,000 and 10,000 Armenians were killed and 45 villages destroyed in the two months of the uprising.

Aftermath

According to Leon Trotsky's war diary, over 4,000 Sason villagers were forced into exile after the uprising. In Trotsky’s opinion, international attention was on the Russo-Japanese War , which is why the uprising was largely ignored by the European powers. Abdulhamid II issued a decree that forbade the Armenians to return to Sason; after diplomatic protests he gave in and 6,000 Armenians resettled in the region.

literature

  • Mihran Kurdoghlian: Hayots Badmoutioun . tape III . Hradaragoutioun Azkayin Ousoumnagan Khorhourti, Athens, Greece 1996, p. 47 (Armenian).
  • Eduard Oganesjan: Век борьбы. Part 1, Moscow / Munich 1991, pp. 221-231.
  • Christopher J. Walker: Armenia: The Survival of a Nation . 2nd Edition. St. Martin's Press, New York 1990, ISBN 0-312-04230-2 .
  • AS Hambarian: Սասունի 1904 թվականի գոյամարտը (English: Sasun's Self-Defense in 1904) . In: Patma-Banasirakan Handes . No. 4 , 1989, ISSN  0135-0536 , pp. 22–34 (Armenian, hpj.asj-oa.am ).
  • Antranig Chalabian: General Andranik and the Armenian Revolutionary Movement . Southfield, Michigan 1988, OCLC 28242633 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ AS Hambarian: Սասունի 1904 թվականի գոյամարտը (English: Sasun's Self-Defense in 1904) 1989, p. 22.
  2. ^ A b C. J. Walker: Armenia: The Survival of a Nation. 1990, p. 178.
  3. ↑ a b Chalabian, 2009, p. 17.
  4. ^ A b Yves Ternon : The Armenians: history of a genocide. Caravan Books, Delmar, NY 1981, ISBN 0-88206-038-4 , p. 115.
  5. ↑ THE SASSOUN MASSACRE; Proof of the Assertion that Armenian Revolutionists Caused It. TESTIMONY OF REV. CYRUS HAMLIN A Protest Against Americans Helping England to Realize Political Aspirations in the East. In: The New York Times. August 23, 1896, accessed January 30, 2014 .
  6. ↑ AS Hambarian: Սասունի 1904 թվականի գոյամարտը (English: Sasun's Self-Defense in 1904) 1989, p. 24.
  7. ^ Correspondence on events in Sasun. May 22, 1904 // Sassoun et les atrocités hamidiennes, interpellation. Les atrocités. Report officiel. Geneva , 1904, pp. 27-32.
  8. ↑ a b c Leon Trotsky : The Balkan Wars 1912-13 . Ed .: The German Library. Arbeiterpresse Verlag, Essen 1995, ISBN 3-88634-065-1 , Andranik and his troops, from Kievskaya Mysl No. 197, July 19, 1913, p. 279 ( here in the Google book search).
  9. ↑ a b c A. S. Hambarian: Սասունի 1904 թվականի գոյամարտը (English: Sasun's Self-Defense in 1904) 1989, p. 31.