ABSTRACT
In Belfast the Provos began with the dozen or so members of the Northern Command and expanded to several hundred volunteers by the end of the first year and over a thousand early in 1971. In Derry, the Officials did as well as the Provos and in the beginning there was little to choose in tactics or intentions. At this time the Provos were also attempting to maintain order in Ballymurphy - a dim prospect given their limited strength and the impact of CS gas. The gun had been introduced for the first time by the Provos against the Army. For the Provos no greater asset could have been found than the British resort to brutality, for it wedded the Catholic population to the campaign and in part reduced the complaints that Provo shooting and bombing operations were endangering innocent civilians. Now in the decaying situation John Hume in particular sought means to get the Provos talking.
