Crossword Genius

Soldiers in retreat? No, Sir ragtag army is (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

garrison

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

'ragtag army is' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this defines the answer.

'soldiers in retreat? no sir' is the wordplay.
'soldiers in' becomes 'gar' (I can't explain this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'retreat?' says the letters should be written in reverse (I've seen 'retreat' mean this).
'no'+'sir'='nosir'
'nosir' back-to-front is 'rison'.
'gar'+'rison'='GARRISON'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for garrison that I've seen before include "Military base" , "(Soldiers stationed to guard) fortified place" , "Fortified military post" , "army base?" , "Station (troops) in a town" .)

I've seen this clue in The Hindu.
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