In a graphic statement supplied to the inquiry, a young British soldier describes how he saw Derry's Bogside as "nightmare country" and admits he gave some civilians "a doing over" on Bloody Sunday.
Soldier 013, attached to the Parachute Regiment, was in the second of two armoured personnel carriers ("Pigs") which led the way into the Bogside on January 30th, 1972, racing to trap fleeing civilians between them.
Part of his statement was read by counsel to the tribunal, Mr Christopher Clarke QC, in the course of an examination of the accounts given by various paratroopers of what happened when they launched what was portrayed as an "arrest operation".
Soldier 013 says: "When I got out of the Pig my immediate impression was that this was nightmare country for us. Our Pig was on its own and we did not have any cover.
"I looked up at the Rossville flats and saw in particular the slats in the stairways. All I could focus on was the planks. They had spaces between them which would be ideal for snipers.
"I thought that we were going to get shot from these slats. I was expecting to be shot. One thing to do was to try and get cover, but it is very difficult when someone is standing a few feet away throwing bricks and stones at you . . . "I could hear bangs going off all around me although I did not know were they were coming from. It could have been from us . . . In the flats car-park I was concentrating on dealing with the rioters who were screaming and shouting. I was conscious that there were not enough of us to take on the numbers rioting.
"There were only 10 of us and rioters were all around us. I was quite aggressive at that age and I gave a few of them a doing over . . . I think that is why I was given the job of firing the baton rounds to keep the rioters away. I was probably over-aggressive as a soldier.
"The Paras' ethos is that if someone is going to be violent to you, attack them. I always used aggression and it worked. It is the best form of defence. I felt that the aggression was justified, given what I faced as I got out of the Pig.
"I remember chasing a lad into a stairway in one of the blocks of the Rossville flats. I think it was the stairway at the northern end of Block 1. I chased him up the stairway and fired my baton round up the stairs . . . I also fired a number of baton rounds at windows in the flats as these were also good firing positions. I wanted to keep people away from the windows to prevent them shooting at us . . .
"I kept firing my baton round to keep people away, and all the time I was expecting to be shot. I cannot say we were shot at but my senses told me it was a gun battle. I did not see any civilians carrying weapons, but many soldiers have been killed by weapons which they have never seen.
"It was not usual to see civilians with weapons."