The Canuts' hope of getting a fair rate for their labour had faded with the shrinking silk industry. It ...... this time, unfortunately, with the aid/support of arms (weapons).


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canut_revolts
The Canut revolts (French: Révolte des canuts) is the collective name for the major revolts by Lyonnais silk workers (French: canuts) which occurred in 1831, 1834 and 1848. They were among the first well-defined worker uprisings of the period known as the Industrial Revolution.

The First Canut revolt in 1831 was provoked by a bad economy and a resultant drop in silk prices, which caused a drop in workers' wages. In an effort to maintain their standard of living, the workers tried to see a minimum price imposed on silk. The refusal of the manufacturers to pay this price infuriated the workers, who went into open revolt. They seized the arsenal and repulsed the local national guard and military in a bloody battle, which left the insurgents in control of the town. The government sent Marshal Jean-de-Dieu Soult, a veteran of the Napoleonic Wars, at the head of an army of 20,000 to restore order. Soult was able to retake the town without any bloodshed, and without making any compromises with the workers. Though some workers were arrested, all were eventually acquitted. The revolt ended, with the minimum price abolished and with the workers no better off.

The French silk workers revolt, 1834 - Libcom.org
https://libcom.org/history/french-silk-workers-revolt-1834
19 sep. 2016 - In 1831 the production of silk in Lyon was still organised in a pre-industrial way. ... at Bon Pasteur and ***armed themselves with weapons from the arsenal***. ... from the canuts refused to fire on the workers and changed sides.

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Note added at 10 mins (2018-07-04 17:21:52 GMT)
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A Page of History: the 1834 Canut Revolt in Lyon | The Socialist Party ...
https://www.worldsocialism.org/.../page-history-1834-canut-r...
Last year was the 180th anniversary of the 1834 Canut revolt in Lyon. ... In 1833-34 the Lyonnais silk industry was booming, and Canut wages had ... parts of Lyon, erecting barricades, raiding the barracks ***and taking arms from the arsenal.***

I would say "with the support of arms".

Sod it, even though Charles mentions it in a comment, I'm posting this anyway. as it's what sprang to mind when I saw the query. It is the classic form I'm familiar with and gets over 859,000 hits on Google, many of them book titles.

Frequently heard phrasing in conflict-related contexts.