Enver Pasha oversaw the Special Organization (SO). This secret security network was a shadow government that oversaw the formation and implementation of killing squads operated by violent criminals and Pan-Turkish nationalists. The sole purpose of these Chetes, or roving death squads, was the eradication of the Armenian population and the confiscation of their land and goods.

Over 1 million Armenians died that summer alone. With the full power of the central government behind it and the support of the Turkish public, the events of 1915 were a fully bureaucratized and legislated act of mass killing. For the next 7 years, the Young Turks would carry out an uninterrupted campaign of deportation, confiscation and violence against the Armenian population in every corner of the Empire. Entire villages were razed and millions were killed in death marches and highly coordinated attacks against the unarmed minority.