A male line broken in battle (2,7)
I believe the answer is:
el alamein
'battle' is the definition.
(Second World War battle)
'a male line broken' is the wordplay.
'broken' indicates an anagram.
'a'+'male'+'line'='amaleline'
'amaleline' with letters rearranged gives 'EL ALAMEIN'.
'in' is the link.
(Other definitions for el alamein that I've seen before include "WWII battle" , "North African World War two battle" , "North African WW2 battle site" , "victory" , "Place in Egypt where Montgomery defeated Rommel" .)