The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 9 letter word SWASTIKAS
I've seen this crossword clue in The Daily Telegraph
S
W
A
S
T
I
K
A
S
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Many Nazis were armed with these" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case many nazis were armed with these = swastikas.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.
What does SWASTIKAS mean?
SWASTIKAS noun- A cross with arms of equal length all bent halfway along at a 90° angle to the right or to the left, used as a religious symbol by various ancient and modern civilizations, and adopted more recently (with arms angled to the right) as a symbol of National Socialism and fascism.
- (fascism, history, metonym) Nazi rule.