 The Germans were too thinly stretched to do more than man a series of strongpoints.On the corps left wing, the 42nd Infantry Division (Maj. Gen. Harry J. Collins) overcame the added obstacle of attacking along the spine of the Lower Vosges by avoiding the roads and villages in the valleys and following the crests of the high ground.Pack mules—already proved in earlier fighting in the High Vosges—provided the means of supply.