Complex sentence: An engagement broke out before they reached the crossroads, and the battalion took heavy casualties--after killing 20 German soldiers, Baramzina was re-assigned to care for the wounded personnel, due to her medical training.
Split into simpler sentences: An engagement broke out before they reached the crossroads, and the battalion took heavy casualties. After killing 20 German soldiers, Baramzina was re-assigned to care for the wounded personnel, due to her medical training.