society > armed hostility > armed encounter > [noun] > battle or a battle > press of battle (3)
A crush in battle; the thick of the fight; an affray or mêlée. Now chiefly archaic and poetic.
Strife, turmoil, fighting. Also (as a count noun): a battle, a mêlée; a fight, a brawl. In later use only in toils of war, toils of battle, etc…
Turmoil, throng of battle, mêlée.