Soldiers taking area in French town and city (7)
I believe the answer is:
orleans
'city' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'soldiers taking area in french town' is the wordplay.
'soldiers' becomes 'or' (Other Rank).
'taking' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'area' becomes 'a' (maths abbreviation).
'in' is an insertion indicator.
'french town' becomes 'lens' (I've seen this before).
'a' going within 'lens' is 'leans'.
'or'+'leans'='ORLEANS'
'and' is the link.
(Other definitions for orleans that I've seen before include "Joan of Arc was known as the Maid of . . . . . . ." , "French city saved by Joan of Arc" , "City of north-central France" , "historic French city" , "French city on the Loire" .)