Soldiers on edge shot drunk half in view (4,3,8)

I believe the answer is:

goes the distance

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

'soldiers' is the definition.
I know nothing about this answer so I can't tell whether it can be defined by this definition.

'edge shot drunk half in view' is the wordplay.
'drunk' indicates an anagram.
'half' suggests halving the letters.
'view' becomes 'stance' (I can't justify this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'in' halved is 'i'.
'edge'+'shot'='edgeshot'
'edgeshot' with letters rearranged gives 'goesthed'.
'goesthed'+'i'+'stance'='GOES THE DISTANCE'

'on' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

I've seen this clue in The Daily Express.

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.