pitched battle

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

• noun An intense battle fought in close contact by troops arranged in a predetermined formation.
• noun A fiercely waged battle or struggle between opposing forces.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

• noun military A hostile engagement involving sustained, full-scale fighting between opposing forces in close combat.
• noun idiomatic, by extension An intense, rancorous argument or confrontation.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

• noun a fierce battle fought in close combat between troops in predetermined positions at a chosen time and place