The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 5 plus 2 plus 6 letter word ORDER OF BATTLE
I've seen this crossword clue in The Times
O
R
D
E
R
O
F
B
A
T
T
L
E
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Arrangements for action" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case arrangements for action = order of battle.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.