Complex sentence: The German boats attacked the destroyer, surprising the crew and outnumbered, "Flirt" tried to ram one of the German boats; after a brief engagement it was sunk by gunfire and torpedoes.
Split into simpler sentences: The German boats attacked the destroyer, surprising the crew. Outnumbered, "Flirt" tried to ram one of the German boats; after a brief engagement it was sunk by gunfire and torpedoes.