Shells armed with these fuses were very effective, but the Allies limited their use in Europe. The Pentagon feared that a dud would be recovered by the Germans who would reverse engineer it and use the information to design radar countermeasures or employ them against the Allies. Near Monschau, 326th Volksgrenadier Division quickly overran the Americans forward positions. Colonel Oscar A. Axelson, commanding officer of 405th Field Artillery Group, saw a need and ignored orders, and 196th Battalion was one of the first to use the fuses.