Complex sentence: Although the cavalry of Gobir outflanked their opponents, the center of the Fulani formation held this strong position, and the bowmen adopted a square, grouping their archers in a compact block, and concentrating the firepower of their poisoned arrows.
Split into simpler sentences: Although the cavalry of Gobir outflanked their opponents, the center of the Fulani formation held this strong position. Rather than deploy in the usual open skirmishing order, the Fulani bowmen adopted a square, grouping their archers in a compact block, and concentrating the firepower of their poisoned arrows.