I heard a rumour that they just delay the battles til servers up. I would have to agree with Snipes that they should freeze strat. But I would say that in this case, and this case only, the battles should be played as if no one showed up and the defenders get auto-win (and get all the undamaged gear). This a disinterested opinion, free from any bias.
Actually, I think the strat map should only be on during prime-ish times. 4 hours an evening, and battles would be instant. Everyone would move faster, so during a hour long battle reinforcements could come during the battle. That way a lightly armed caravan would have to hold off an attacker until a nearby heavily armed army could save them. Oh, and everybody has 2 minute respawn time so they can adjust their troops on the stra map. That way the useless fighters like me have the advantage on the map, while the uber heroes better just shut themselves up in a castle, cuz they'll rarely get to adjust their army's direction and such.
So says I!