The Fourth Army attacked a low ridge running north-west from Le Transloy to Ligny but achieved little success amidst a jumble of trenches, derelict artillery positions and strong points. New German trenches dug between the Flers and Gird lines formed tiers of defences to fight from, which became a wasteland due to the ceaseless bombardments. The Fourth Army slowly advanced into a dip overlooked from Le Transloy and Warlencourt and towards the Butte de Warlencourt, from which German observers could see all round. Deliberate attacks on 7, 12, 18 and 23 October and smaller local attacks were quickly forced to ground by German machine-gun fire on the XIV and XV corps fronts but III Corps captured Le Sars, before being held up around the defences of the Butte. The Sixth Army experienced its worst fighting of the battle to capture the Saillisels, attacking on a in the same conditions as the Fourth Army, with the same results for the same reasons. On the right of the attack, the French had more success and closed up on the southern approach to the villages but after 7 October this advance also slowed. In the middle of the month the villages were entered but not entirely captured until 12 November.