Complex sentence: After the initial defeat, Tsai's ship was part of the fleet which took up an offshore position to defend Weihaiwei, on the Shandong peninsula, but in January 1895, the Japanese Army captured a strategic position which endangered the Chinese force.
Split into simpler sentences: After the initial defeat, Tsai's ship was part of the fleet which took up an offshore position to defend Weihaiwei, on the Shandong peninsula. But in January 1895, the Japanese Army captured a strategic position on the mainland which endangered the Chinese force.