Complex sentence: The whole town was gripped in terror, since this would mean Japanese reprisals--on December 28,1944, the Japanese burned many houses in the town proper and raided the camp of the guerrillas in barrio San Cristobal.
Split into simpler sentences: The whole town was gripped in terror, since this would mean Japanese reprisals. On December 28,1944, the Japanese burned many houses in the town proper and raided the camp of the guerrillas in barrio San Cristobal.