Excessive to provoke fascist troops? (8)
I believe the answer is:
needless
'excessive' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'provoke fascist troops' is the wordplay.
'provoke' becomes 'needle' (needling is a kind of provoking).
'fascist troops' becomes 'ss' (Nazi paramilitary organisation).
'needle'+'ss'='NEEDLESS'
'to' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for needless that I've seen before include "Excessive" , "uncalled for" , "- - to say" , "Gratuitous" , "Lessened, as not required" .)