There is a difference of scope and size between: war battle skirmish . For the purposes of Grepo, I use these definitions:
1. WAR: when an alliance has officially declared war on another alliance, regardless of the outcome. It is usually (but not necessarily) prolonged and involves the conquest of many cities. The masters of earth history have declared that "the best war is one where no one had to fire a shot" (i guess for grepo that would be a catapult shot LOL)
2. BATTLE: an attempt at conquest, whether it succeeds or not. BP is exchanged on both parties. It may take place in a single wave or take several waves, a single attacker or several. Battles take place in a war or when not at war.
3. SKIRMISH: when both sides exchange BP, but a conquest is not the immediate purpose of the mission. it may take place in a single wave or several, a single attacker, or several.