Rough treatment in battles over wood (3,4)
I believe the answer is:
raw deal
'rough treatment' is the definition.
(someone given a raw deal is treated badly)
'battles over wood' is the wordplay.
'battles' becomes 'war' (I've seen this in other clues).
'over' says the letters should be written in reverse.
'wood' becomes 'deal' (deal is a kind of wood).
'war' in reverse letter order is 'raw'.
'raw'+'deal'='RAW DEAL'
'in' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for raw deal that I've seen before include "Unfair arrangement" , "Poor bargain" , "cruel treatment" , "Unjust arrangement" , "It's unfair treatment if you get one" .)