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Given that the events that are alluded to took place during WW I, shall take that conflict as the framework of my exposition.
1.The Ottoman Empire entered that war on the side of Central Powers. At this point Imperial Russian forces began to invade Eastern Turkey.
2.In 1915 this invasion was spearheaded by some 150,000 Armenian volunteers from Turkey and the Transcaucasus who, under the false impression that Russia was going to help them to create an "independent" Armenia, had joined the Russian forces. Since the majority were Ottoman citizens, this act turned them into deserters. At the same time some 40,000 to 60,000 Armenians from Eastern Turkey had formed "guerrilla" bands, and were attacking the Turkish army from the rear, while wreaking havoc throughout the region. Even before the Russo-Armenian forces arrived the guerrillas had captured the city of Van, massacred the entire Muslim population, and razed the Muslim quarters. After this they undertook the softening-up of the area. In this operation thousands of Turks, Kurds and Muslims from Eastern Anatolia and the Caucasus were exterminated. Those who survived tried to escape in the direction of Central Anatolia thus creating a massive refugee problem.
3.At this point the Ottoman Government felt that it must act, because: (a) The Turkish army in the East was being attacked by Russo-Armenian forces from the North, and by the Armenian guerrillas from the East and the South; (b) on the other hand many Armenian communities in the war-zone and immediately to the West were peaceful, and appeared uninvolved in what the guerrilas were doing: (c) however, soon news began to come in that the guerrillas depended on some of these communities for food, shelter and recruits: and, (d) the Muslim populations were beginning to react in kind against the Armenians in the East, and the whole region was rapidly becoming the scene of a full-fledged "inter-communal war."
4.After some hesitation, the Ottoman Government decided to relocate the Armenian communities of Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Anatolia in Syria, Lebanon and Iraq, which at that time, were Ottoman provinces.
5.This widely criticized decision, was taken reluctantly, although the relocation of populations believed to be hostile was not exceptional. The Russians had done the same thing to the Turks when they conquered Transcaucasia. The minutes of the Ottoman cabinet show that the relocation of the Armenians was not to be punitive; that those moved were allowed to take everything they could carry, and that rent would be paid according to stipulated procedures for any real property that was being vacated.
6.The implementation of this decree turned out to be a tragedy because the relocation of a large mass of people proved beyond the logistical capabilities of the dying Ottoman Empire. A large number of Armenian casualties occurred during the relocation--due not only to the intercommunal warfare which had now become widespread, but mainly to disease, harsh weather, exposure, and hunger. However, it should be noted that a great many Turks and other Muslims also died from the same causes, as they sought to escape from the Armenians by following the retreating Ottoman armies of the East.
It is during this ordeal that individual crimes were committed against the Armenians. In this connection, however, one detail is always ignored: namely, that Turks and other Muslims were tried at this time in Ottoman Courts and convicted for their crimes. No Armenian was prosecuted despite the fact that great numbers of Turks and other Muslims were massacred during the same events.
7.This devastating situation lasted until 1917 when the next act of the tragedy begins.