The mission, which involved some 4500 soldiers, began in late August with heavy bombing of Taliban positions and raids by U.S. and British special forces on Taliban-held villages along the Helmand River. On 27 August, a 100- vehicle convoy including the trucks carrying the gear set out from Kandahar and drove into the desert, usually going just a few kilometers per hour. Well ahead of the convoy was another, “dummy” convoy of about 40 Danish vehicles that took the main road near the dam, drawing fire and diverting attention from the real convoy. Bomb-disposal teams cleared scores of improvised explosive devices along the route, including 11 in a single short stretch of road not far from the dam. The convoy transporting the massive electrical gear, which was hidden in multiple shipping containers covered with posters emblazoned with quotes from the »