Few protecting thousand in war zone (5)
I believe the answer is:
somme
'war zone' is the definition.
The answer and definition can be both acts as well as being singular nouns.
Maybe there's an association between them I don't understand?
'few protecting thousand' is the wordplay.
'few' becomes 'some' (associated in meaning).
'protecting' is an insertion indicator (inserted letters are held or protected).
'thousand' becomes 'm' (Roman numeral for a thousand).
'some' enclosing 'm' is 'SOMME'.
'in' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for somme that I've seen before include "River of northern France" , "Major Great War battle" , "Move in clumsy bounds" , "French river known from World War 1" , "French river known from First World War" .)