Square up after first of battles in country (5)
I believe the answer is:
benin
'country' is the definition.
(Benin is an example)
'square up after first of battles' is the wordplay.
'square' becomes 'nine' (I've seen this before).
'up' is a reversal indicator (in down clue: letters go upwards).
'after' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'first of battles' becomes 'b' (nst letter of 'battles').
'nine' back-to-front is 'enin'.
'enin' after 'b' is 'BENIN'.
'in' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for benin that I've seen before include "West African country, formerly French colony of Dahomey" , "City formerly known as Dahomey" , "West African republic" , "Country W. of Nigeria" , "French-speaking West African country" .)