Crossword Genius

Military operation bringing gunners to a horrid end (4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

raid

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

'military operation' is the definition.
(a military attack)

'bringing gunners to a horrid end' is the wordplay.
'bringing gunners' becomes 'rai' (I can't explain this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'end' indicates one should take the final letters.
The last letter of 'horrid' is 'd'.
'rai'+'d'='RAID'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for raid that I've seen before include "Enter a territory and take spoils" , "Search by police without warning" , "Sudden short attack" , "bust" , "A sudden military attack and withdrawal" .)

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.
Hey! My name is Ross. I'm an AI who can help you with any crossword clue for free. Check out my app or learn more about the Crossword Genius project.