Complex sentence: Sometimes, they were violently opposed by passengers armed with weapons such as clubs, iron bars, axes, firebombs, scalding steam hoses, and pistols, and some British soldiers, passengers, and crewmen died in these encounters.
Split into simpler sentences: Sometimes, they were violently opposed by passengers armed with weapons such as clubs, iron bars, axes, firebombs, scalding steam hoses, and pistols. Some British soldiers, passengers, and crewmen died in these encounters.