Jallianwalla Bagh was an open space, around which were buildings, On April 13, a meeting was called there, and the place was were public meetings use to and the entry and exit points in to the Bagh were two or three very narrow, bottleneck-like pathways. 

Around 20,000 peaceful and unarmed people had gathered there for the meeting.  General Dyer himself was standing on an elevated part of the ground and from about 150 yards away from where his army unit was standing someone was delivering a speech to the huge crowd assembled there. 

Dyer was standing in front of about 100 of his soldiers in additions to which there were 50 soldiers each on either side of the pathway and two armored vehicles. The Indian people who assembled there had no inkling of what was being planned by Dyer and they were totally absorbed in the speech being delivered.