Complex sentence: The men in the "Goatley" boat had managed to get about out to sea when it was located and engaged by three machine gun posts above the beach and a gun emplacement to the west also starting firing towards them with heavier calibre guns.
Split into simpler sentences: The men in the "Goatley" boat had managed to get about out to sea when it was located and engaged by three machine gun posts above the beach. A gun emplacement to the west also starting firing towards them with heavier calibre guns.