Opetation of war ... French police commandos of the BRI unit with the bullet-hole riddled riot shield used in the final assault at the Bataclan.

As members of France’s elite BRI police unit took up position inside the theatre of terror, they were confronted with, “hell on Earth”.

Christophe Molmy, the head of the elite squad described it as “a scene of absolute horror. It will live with my men for ever.”

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The captain of the commandos, who wanted to be known only as Jeremy, told NBC News he entered the theatre to find several hundred people lying motionless on the floor, not making a sound, “because they were afraid of the terrorist.”

“Tons of bloods everywhere. No sound,” he said. “Nobody was screaming ... and a lot of light because it was like a concert.”

Molmy recounted the timeline of how the horrific events unfolded to France’s i-Tele TV.

The BRI team on duty had just finished dinner when they heard via the media about explosions at the Stade de France, the site of the night’s first attack.

Panic sets in ... the scene of chaos outside the Bataclan theatre.Source:Supplied

At that point it wasn’t immediately clear if it was an attack or just an accident, he said.

When members heard about the shootings at the Bataclan — also via the media — they “took off immediately.”

The first shots at the Bataclan Theatre had been fired by the terrorists at 9.45pm.

When the BRI got there at 10.15pm, uniformed police had managed to kill one of the attackers.

The other two terrorists had gone upstairs with hostages — but police did not realise this at the time.

When the elite police arrived at the scene, the unit systematically went from room to room.

“A lot of people ... ask us to help them because they were wounded, bleeding and we had to say no — we have to find first the terrorist,” Jeremy told NBC News. “It was difficult for the guys, for the men on the team.”

In the orchestra pit of the theatre lay the dead, the wounded and those who were too shocked or frightened to move.

Christophe Molmy, director of the BRI, says the Bataclan massacre was “hell on earth”.Source:AFP

For the first 15 minutes, the elite team worked on securing the lower part of the theatre, evacuating survivors and recovering the wounded.

The members then moved upstairs, going through each room. Each time they entered a room, they had to form a column, stick their heads in and clear the area of terrorised hostages.

High alert ... a police officer secures the area outside the Bataclan.Source:AP

“We went from cupboard to cupboard, into the toilets; all of that takes an enormous amount of time. It was extremely tense,” Molmy told i-Tele TV.

At 11.15pm, the team was confronted with another scene of horror as they approached a closed door.

A hostage, forced by the terrorists to be a spokesman by the terrorists, shouted from the other side of the door and asked the men to stop, saying there were 20 people inside and they would be killed or beheaded if the police advanced.

Securing the area ... a police officer outside the Bataclan.Source:Supplied

“In a situation like that you have to understand that we face very different terrorists from what we’ve known,” Molmy said.

“Now, we have extremely determined terrorists who want to commit mass murder. Who kill, who then retreat, entrench themselves, and who want to die as martyrs. They’re not seeking negotiations.

“They’re not asking for a car to escape, money, freeing people from prison. We get the same declarations, ‘You attacked the Islamic State, we’re at war and we’re responding to your attacks.’”

Last stand ... officers made their final assault using this shield.Source:AFP

At 11.45pm, the squad’s chief gave the go ahead for the police to launch their final assault.

It was, said Molmy, “one of the worst scenarios” as the lives of the Bataclan hostages were at risk.

The BRI squad, now “in a war operation” pushed forward just after midnight, advancing behind their 80-kilogram shield, which was hit by 27 bullets.

None of the hostages were hurt or killed, which Molmy described as “extraordinary.”

The terrorists were hit several times before the suicide vests they were wearing blew up.

And with that, the Bataclan theatre was made safe — although for the families of those who lost their loved ones, and the traumatised survivors, the nightmare continues.