Drinking vessels broken by German assailants (7)

I believe the answer is:

muggers

'assailants' is the definition.
(mugger is a kind of assailant)

'drinking vessels broken by german' is the wordplay.
'drinking vessels' becomes 'mugs' (mug is a kind of drinking vessel).
'broken by' indicates putting letters inside.
'german' becomes 'ger' (abbreviation).
'mugs' placed around 'ger' is 'MUGGERS'.

(Another definition for muggers that I've seen is " Assailants".)

I've seen this clue in The Times.

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