 Some areas were stoutly defended while in others the enemy surrendered after little more than token resistance.By sending armored spearheads around hotly contested areas, isolating them for reduction by subsequent waves of infantry, Eisenhower's forces maintained their eastward momentum.A German holdout force of 70,000 in the Harz Mountains— north of Erfurt—was neutralized in this way, as were the towns of Erfurt, Jena, and Leipzig.