In a last effort Mountbatten said that even if that many planes could be found, it would be impossible to meet the Generalissimo’s demands for the Hump and at the same time mount the airborne assault on Mandalay that he wanted before the monsoon. At this point a prolonged colloquy ensued between Chiang and his wife until, responding to the query in Mountbatten’s raised eyebrows, Madame turned to him and said, “Believe it or not, he does not know about the monsoon.” It was an enlightening proof of some of Stilwell’s difficulties with the G–mo. The monsoon was the governing fact of life and of
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