The battle became desperate is literally “And the battle deepened.” The Greek is better rendered “The fighting became very fierce” (Good News Bible) or “The Syrians and Jews fought each other fiercely.”

And many on both sides were wounded and fell could mean that many were either killed or wounded, or it could simply mean that many were killed (so Good News Bible). The latter sense is more likely.

Quoted with permission from Bullard, Roger A. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on 1-2 Maccabees. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2011. For this and other handbooks for translators see here.