Lesbœufs was a village on the D 74 between Gueudecourt and Morval, about 30 mi (48 km) north-east of Amiens; Le Transloy lies to the north-west and Bapaume is to the north.

French Territorials fought the II Bavarian Corps on the north bank of the Somme in late September 1914, after which the front line moved west past the village.

During the Battle of Flers–Courcelette (15–22 September), advances by the right flank corps of the British Fourth Army, brought the front line forward to the Gallwitz Riegel trenches west of Lesbœufs but exhaustion prevented the British from reaching their third objective, a line east of Morval, Lesbœufs and Gueudecourt.

On 25 September, during the Race to the Sea a French attack north of the Somme against the II Bavarian Corps (General Karl Ritter von Martini), forced a hurried withdrawal.

[2] The German offensive was confronted north of the Somme by the northern corps of the French Second Army east of Albert.

[3] The XIV Reserve Corps attacked on 28 September, along the Roman road from Bapaume to Albert and Amiens, intending to reach the Ancre and then continue westwards along the Somme valley.

The survivors saw that the way through Ginchy and Lesbœufs was open to the British but by evening reinforcements had arrived and closed the gap either side of Foureaux (High) Wood.

Infantry Regiment 88 advanced through Le Transloy, Lesbœufs and Flers, where there were still fields with standing crops, towards the front line.

[6] On 14 September, field gunners behind the line saw British artillery bombardments falling on German defences along the Ginchy–Gueudecourt road and Gallwitz Riegel (the Gird Trenches).

[7] Small parties from the Guards Division advanced on Lesbœufs and eventually took cover in a trench for several hours, before falling back during a German counter-attack.

The Guards Division eventually dug in short of the final objective, west of the Gird Trenches in front of Lesbœufs.

[9] The Guards Division (Major-General Geoffrey Feilding) was withdrawn from the front line by 17 September for three days, to reorganise after the Battle of Flers–Courcelette.

Spurs ran down the eastern slope, generally to the north-east in the direction of the Péronne–Bapaume road, before the ground rose again from St Pierre Vaast Wood to Sailly-Saillisel, Le Transloy, Beaulencourt and Thilloy.

The Gird trenches ran north-west to south-east, behind the Butte de Warlencourt, Seven Dials and Factory Corner, protecting the village against attacks from Eaucourt l'Abbay to the west.

The foremost waves moved fast enough to avoid the bombardment and were close to the German front line, when the standing barrage lifted.

The battalion reorganised and reached the first objective at 1:35 p.m. and then found that the left flank was open, due to the 64th Brigade on the right of the 21st Division had been delayed short of Gird Trench by uncut wire.

The second supporting battalion passed through the foremost troops at the second line and reached the brown line at 3:30 p.m. Touch was gained with the 6th Division north of Lesbœufs; a further advance in the evening was postponed due to the vulnerable northern flank, although the disarray seen among the German defenders further south led local commanders to call for cavalry, to exploit the "rout" they believed was occurring south of Gueudecourt, where British artillery inflicted many casualties on retreating parties of Germans.

The uncertainty about the left flank led Fielding and the corps commander to decide not to attempt to exploit the victory at Lesbœufs, despite the disarray observed among the German survivors, who were seen retreating without weapons.

By attacking in the area from Lesbœufs to Le Sars, the British pushed into lower boggy ground overlooked by the Germans on the Transloy Ridge.

[28] On 2 November, Rupprecht wrote in his diary that the British were digging in west of Delville Wood to Martinpuich and Courcelette, which suggested that winter quarters were being built and that only minor operations were contemplated.

Infantry attacks diminished but British artillery fire was constant, against which the large number of German guns in the area could only make a limited reply, due to a chronic shortage of ammunition.

[29] During the winter lull of 1916–1917, sniping, trench raiding and artillery exchanges continued until the German retreat to the Hindenburg Line in March 1917.