The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 2 plus 7 letter word EL ALAMEIN
I've seen this crossword clue in The Times
E
L
A
L
A
M
E
I
N
More clues leading to the result EL ALAMEIN
- End of serenade — wordless singing — my German is a battle
- Site of a battle in Basel — a lame insurrection
- English city crippled in battle
- In battle with airline I get in the final word
- British Victory Ale’s turned up, positioned around me
- Name associated with a lot of Allies battling
- Eastern US city unconvincing in battle
- A male line broken in battle
- After drink’s knocked back one gets weak during battle
- Battle with airline to take a case of Moselle on board
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "battle" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case battle = el alamein.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.