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His soldier's temper aroused, Marshall went on to discuss the plight of China's armies. Recalling his mission to China, Marshall said: "I told them that no operation could be successful until they first had trained troops and sent these troops to battle under competent leadership. There hasn't been any lack of advice. It's been continuous and emphatic and ignored!" He listed the military help the U.S. had already provided since the arms embargo was lifted last May: 130 million rounds of small arms ammunition, 150 C46 transports and 80 light combat planes, 61,000 tons of surplus ammunition, $6,000,000 worth of air-force supplies (at 12½¢ on the dollar).
No Lack of Danger. Marshall made it clear that the President's plan was as far as the Administration would now go. He did not minimize the danger of a Communist victory. Under sharp questioning by Minnesota's Walter H. Judd, he agreed that if the Chiang government fell, the Communists would immediately seize all of China north of the Yangtze, would hold the key to all the rest. He agreed that such a turn would make the U.S. position in Korea untenable, would force "a very serious situation" on General Douglas MacArthur* in Japan.
But, like Harry Truman, George Marshall doggedly insisted that Europe must have a priority on U.S. aid, that real recovery could be accomplished only by China itself.
For embattled China, these were hardly encouraging deeds or words. But in Nanking, hard-pressed Nationalists were ready to settle for what they could get. Small as the sum was, it would be enough to cover China's current dollar deficit. By providing new funds for relief imports, it would free an equal amount of China's own assets for the purchase of essential military supplies.
*Attributed to James I's Ambassador to Venice Author-Diplomat Sir Henry Wotton. *From Tokyo, MacArthur put a prompt stop to a hopeful suggestion by the committee that he return to testify on the bill. Said MacArthur: "The heavy pressure of my duties renders it impracticable for me to leave my post here at the present time."