Weaponry General Thumb was never without? (5,4)
I believe the answer is:
small arms
'weaponry' is the definition.
(type of weaponry)
I don't understand the rest of the clue.
(Other definitions for small arms that I've seen before include "Hand-held weapons" , "More than one weapon" , "Rifles etc" , "Rifle, pistol etc" , "those of little calibre" .)