Complex sentence: The French brought up guns to fire from its cover, but riflemen of the 1/95 in the "sand pit" to the east of the farm, picked off all the gunners, so the guns were ineffective.
Split into simpler sentences: The French brought up guns to fire from its cover. Riflemen of the 1/95 in the "sand pit" to the east of the farm picked off all the gunners, so the guns were ineffective.