General Milford's 5th Division was advancing on Salamaua on three fronts, the third of which was the coastal route along Scout Ridge. On 30 August Milford moved Lieutenant-Colonel Jack Amies's 15th Battalion on to the coastal flank of the American 162nd Regiment with orders that ‘the crest of Scout Ridge must be secured at all cost and with least possible delay’. Captain Don Provan's D Company moved across Roosevelt Ridge that night.

This use of the 15th Battalion was much to the chagrin of the 29th Brigade's commander, Brigadier Monaghan, as the 15th was one of his three battalions but it had been retained under the direct control of 5th Division. Milford later noted, ‘I could not commit the 15 Bn anywhere west of Scout Ridge because they could not be supplied’, but this caused Monaghan to ‘go off the deep end’.

The service numbers of Lieutenant Doug Matthew and his brother George were consecutive; they had joined up together. Having served with the 2/5th Battalion in the Middle East, both men had been commissioned and transferred to the 15th Battalion and both now commanded a platoon, George with 14 Platoon and Doug 18 Platoon. Early on 31 August Doug Matthew led his platoon up the precipitous slopes to the kunai-clad Bamboos position, a separate feature from that on Davidson Ridge. This was the position where D and E Ridges intersected just before joining Scout Ridge.