Complex sentence: A number of Dutch ships were nearby, and destroyers from Harwich were brought the to the scene by distress signals; they were able to rescue 837 of the crews, but 1397 men and 62 officers were lost.
Split into simpler sentences: A number of Dutch ships were nearby and destroyers from Harwich were brought to the scene by distress signals. They were able to rescue 837 of the crews but 1397 men and 62 officers were lost.