Definition of give battle:
(n) :
a general action, fight, or encounter, in which all the divisions of an army are or may be engaged; an engagement; a combat; a struggle; a contest; as, the battle of life
"the whole intellectual battle that had at its center the best poem of the best poet of that day. -H. Morley."
(v) :
to join in battle; to contend in fight; as, to battle over theories; to assail in battle; to
fight