Some soldiers, sadly, fail to survive (3)
I believe the answer is:
die
'fail to survive' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this definition defines the answer.
'some soldiers sadly' is the wordplay.
'some' indicates the answer is hidden within the clue (some of the parts of the word are used).
'DIE' is hidden in the letters of 'soldiers sadly'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for die that I've seen before include "Device that stamps design on metal" , "Cease to live" , "Engraved device that stamps design on coins" , "Depart with engraved stamp" , "Numbered cube" .)