Complex sentence: On the long, circuitous trip, his ship was falsely reported sunk, causing great sorrow to everyone but his wife, who was certain that he was alive; by the time he arrived in Bucharest, he had been promoted to corporal.
Split into simpler sentences: On the long, circuitous trip, his ship was falsely reported sunk, causing great sorrow to everyone but his wife, who was certain he was alive. By the time he arrived in Bucharest, he had been promoted to corporal.