The wide scattering of the drops led to considerable confusion among the Americans, as "fallschirmjäger" were reported all over the Ardennes, and the Allies believed a division-sized jump had taken place. The Americans allocated men to secure the rear instead of facing the main German thrust at the front. By noon on 17 December, von der Heydte's unit had scouted the woods and rounded up a total of around 300 "fallschirmjäger". The force was too small to take the crossroads on its own, and had limited ammunition.