Two armies meet on the battlefield, each desperate to protect their stronghold.
Each side of the grid holds one square of three letters, the name of the side defending it. Work each name out from the answers that cross the square.
Nine clues have an extra letter in one of their words. Strike it out and solve the clue as it then reads. The answers go in complete.
With the grid full, join the B's with a straight line and the K's with a circle. Join the P's to one another, then run a line from each P to the side edge nearest it, and do the same with the F's.
Five squares hold an O. The code 63412 gives their columns, counting from the left. Join them in that order to trace the final strike, up to the instant before it goes in.
The nine struck letters, in clue order, spell the victor's cry (9).