Restraint shown by group of soldiers crossing river (3-4)
I believe the answer is:
leg-iron
'restraint' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'soldiers crossing river' is the wordplay.
'soldiers' becomes 'legion' (I've seen this before).
'crossing' indicates putting letters inside (to cross can mean to go over or around).
'river' becomes 'r' (abbreviation for river).
'legion' enclosing 'r' is 'LEG-IRON'.
'shown by group of' acts as a link.
I am not very happy about this link. Some or all of it may belong to another bit of the clue.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for leg-iron that I've seen before include "Ankle restraint for a prisoner" , "Fetter" .)