Rising river restricting a feeble battle (2,7)
I believe the answer is:
el alamein
'battle' is the definition.
(Second World War battle)
'rising river restricting a feeble' is the wordplay.
'rising' says the letters should be written in reverse (in a down clue, letters go up).
'river' becomes 'nile' (Nile River is an example).
'restricting' indicates putting letters inside.
'feeble' becomes 'lame' (lame can mean feeble or pathetic).
'nile' backwards is 'elin'.
'a'+'lame'='alame'
'elin' enclosing 'alame' is 'EL ALAMEIN'.
(Other definitions for el alamein that I've seen before include "victory" , "WWII battle" , "Place in Egypt where Montgomery defeated Rommel" , "North African WW2 battle site" , "North African World War two battle" .)