The artillery were fighting.是什么意思？

The artillery were fighting.

炮兵正在作战。

the

art. 指已提到的人（物），指说话人与听者已知的人（物），用于独一无二的事物前，与形容词最高级和序数词连用；

例句
He did have a real knowledge of the country...
他对该国的确知之甚多。

artillery

n. 炮，大炮，炮兵部队，炮术，〈美俚〉防身武器；

例句
...the sound of artillery fire.
炮火声

were

be的过去时复数和第二人称单数形式，有时代替 was,用于条件从句、动词 wish 之后等；

例句
Shops, houses, and vehicles were set ablaze.
店铺、房子和车辆全都陷于火海。

fighting

adj. 战斗的，好战的，作战用的，适于打斗的；n. 战斗，斗志，宣战言论，微小但值得一搏的机会；v. 战斗( fight的现在分词 )，斗争，打架，吵架；

例句
Is it worth fighting a big war, in the name of an abstraction like sovereignty?
在主权之类抽象概念的名义下打一场大战是否值得呢？