Soldiers wearing hat that gives a wide view (8)
I believe the answer is:
panorama
'a wide view' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'soldiers wearing hat' is the wordplay.
'soldiers' becomes 'or' (Other Rank).
'wearing' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'hat' becomes 'panama' (panama is a kind of hat**).
'or' put within 'panama' is 'PANORAMA'.
'that gives' is the link.
I am not very happy about this link. Some or all of it may be part of another bit of the clue.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for panorama that I've seen before include "Picture" , "Unbroken view of surrounding area" , "Current affairs programme" , "Wide-angle shot" , "Impressive view" .)