[2] The novel is based on the author's experiences serving with the Australian army fighting the Japanese in Papua New Guinea during World War II.

The patrol must then find a way back to base, through the jungle, evading the Japanese and ensuring their wounded reach safety.

He chose to limit the scope of his novel, taking what must have been reasonably typical experiences of jungle warfare, and concentrating on character types not normally found in war fiction, ordinary but complicated human beings.

In other words, Hungerford chose not to depict the digger of legend and myth, nor did he set out to describe the great battles where wars are won or lost, nor did he rework heroic or dramatic real events.

"[6] In The Australian Collection: Australia’s Greatest Books, Geoffrey Dutton describes how, “The survival of humanity in wartime is the deep, sad subject of The Ridge and the River, indicated in the end by stoicism rather than heroism.”[3] Edward 'Weary' Dunlop described the novel as capturing "the essence of jungle warfare as it was fought by Australians".