The Ending (SPOILERS)
The film being a love story, the male lead had to come back but how?
Everybody was so sure he was dead, the priest actually was holding the dying man in his arms when he said his last words. The army printed that he was dead but it wasn't like he was lost in the wilderness somewhere, he was in his own trench with his own fellow soldiers. So he lives, the priest not very thorough in his job scared the hell out of his "wife" for nothing and the army's incompetance can be understood, afterall paperwork errors can happen.
Then the male lead is seen rushing through the crowds to his home but the guy is blind and that won't slow him down at all. He is instinctively drawn back to "his wife", with no help needed. He doesn't see or recognize another suitor holding his woman when he comes through the door making a very pleasant conclusion.
Overall I liked the film, Janet Gaynor is wonderful as always. But what if the ending was changed from the happy ending to that of a tragedy, perhaps it would hold a bit more of a punch for me. I expected her to jump out of the window to her death when she heard that her lover was dead. Then they could have reunited the pair in heaven.
8/10 rating
The way I see it, is that we weren't retreating, we were just attacking in a new direction.