Crossword Genius

Bloody Mary befuddled Russian soldiers (3,4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

red army

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'soldiers' is the definition.
(army of the USSR)

'bloody mary befuddled russian' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'bloody' could be 'red' and 'red' is found within the answer.
an anagram of 'mary' is 'army' which is within the answer.
This accounts for all the letters.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for red army that I've seen before include "Revolutionary fighters" , "force" , "Leon's offensive baby" , "Soviet troops" , "Cold War divisions?" .)

I've seen this clue in The Sun.
Want a hint initially instead of a full solution? Install my app