In Chapter 4, how did it work that men were assigned to the worst places?

Many of the men joined the army because they were patriotic, heartbroken, or just out of work. They were assigned to the infantry rather than something safe like finance or public affairs. Then they were assigned to an infantry division scheduled to rotate into the war. Then they were assigned to an infantry battalion what was going to the worst place. Eulogies made it sound like everything was accidental, but to the men, it just felt like it was wrong.