In rush current is typically 6 times steady operating amp on a motor. Much higher on large inertia loads. I would put the rotating mass on an FE as higher than typical. So I would say the battery likely limited the inrush.
Since I would have expected closer to 350 amp (about 5hp) to turn an FE, I could be wrong. 200 amp would only be 3hp. It still sounds like that FE is on the wimpy side to me!
