Armenians Being Removed From The Ottoman Military

For hundreds of years, non-Muslim draftsmen and laborers had work along side the Ottoman Army peaceably. Apart from serving in different spheres of the Ottoman state system, Armenians also held high positions at the Military (War) and Navy ministries. When the war started in August 1914, 60,000 Armenian men joined those already serving in the Ottoman army. In January 1915, the Ottoman Army suffered a large defeat by Russian forces at Sarikamish. Enver Pasha, the Minister of War and the actual leader of the Ottoman Empire, feels the defeat at Sarikamish is the blame of Armenian soldiers for treachery.

https://100yearsagotoday.wordpress.com/…/ottoman-forces-suf…/ On February 12, 1915 by the order of the Enver Pasha the disarmament of the Armenian soldiers of Ottoman army started. Disarmed soldiers were formed into amele taburi-es (labor battalions) and hamal taburi-es (cargo transportation battalions) At the same time the isolation and arrest of Armenian officers started. The removal of these Armenians in the military will leave the Armenian population under Ottoman control without protectors.