Complex sentence: Instead Of splintering the unit into companies to several planets at once, Colonel Waco insisted on keeping his unit together few planets could repel Waco's regiment, and the Rangers always managed to escape before enemy reinforcements could arrive.
Split into simpler sentences: Instead of splintering the unit into companies to several planets at once, Colonel Waco insisted on keeping his unit together. Few planets could repel Waco's regiment, and the Rangers always managed to escape before enemy reinforcements could arrive.