All of Ernest Haycox's stories are set in the West. His protagonists are either pitted against the elements, the hard and grinding tasks of establishing a foothold in a hostile land, or opposing the lawless or avaricious. In Bugles in the Afternoon Haycox's theme is the Army in the West. While he did extensive research on Custer and the fatal Battle of the Little Big Horn, his own military experience is evident in his story. He regarded his own service in an infantry outfit as one of the most satisfactory times of his life.

In Bugles in the Afternoon, as in many of his novels, Haycox tells his story through the protagonist, a rival or opponent and two women of contrasting personalities and character. Generally the romantic element concerns two women whose sharply contrasting personalities give the protagonist trouble understanding his own feelings about them. The...