There is a great difference between lighting the Hanukkah candles which mainly commemorate the miracle of the flask of oil, and the words of "Al HaNissim" which we say in the Tefillot and Birkat HaMazon, and which almost entirely focus on the victory in the war. Therefore the question arises: what is the central point of Hanukkah, the miracle of the oil flask or the victory in the war?

The P'nei Yehoshua, in his Chiddushim on Masechet Shabbat, (21b) writes that the thanksgiving and rejoicing are mainly over the victory in war, whereas the miracle of the oil flask came only to show Hashem's favor for Israel, that the Divine Presence dwells within them:

"And since a miracle was performed for them on the central issue, that they were delivered entirely from the hands of the wicked Greek empire… which made many decrees against the Torah, and now a great miracle was done for them and they ruled over their enemies, and therefore, in addition, a great miracle was done for them regarding the candles, as a testimony to Israel that the Divine Presence dwells among them."

To put it another way: we can say that the miracle of the oil flask showed us that Hashem's hand leads Am Israel in a miraculous way, and just as the oil illuminated miraculously (for eight days), so they must know that their victory in the war was miraculous. And so the Maharal explains in Chiddushei Aggadot on Massechet Shabbat (21b):

"And it should be said that the main reason that (the Sages) established Chanukkah was (to commemorate) the victory over the Greeks. However, since it appeared that the victory was not from Hashem who performed this, but rather the result of their strength and courage, therefore the miracle of the candles of the Menorah was also performed in order that all will know that the war was also a miracle."

According to this approach, we can well understand the custom of saying "HaNerot Hallalu" at the time of lighting the candles, in which we recall the war and the salvation:

"We light these candles (to commemorate) the salvations and the miracles and the marvels which You did for our fathers by means of Your holy Kohanim."

In this way we can call the flask of oil "the flask of victory" since the miracle of the oil flask attests to the nature of the victory in the war: that "From HaShem was this" and "HaShem's right (hand) does valiantly."

Nevertheless, it seems that there is another way to understand the connection between the miracle of the oil flask and the miracle of the victory. The war of the Hasmoneans against the Greeks was different in its essence from other wars. In "regular" wars, the collision between nations is the result of a struggle over land or power, and the conflict ends with one side overpowering the other or conquering its land. As we know, the war of Mattityahu and his sons didn't erupt because of the fact that the Greeks ruled in Eretz Israel, as Am Israel had been under foreign rule for many years.  The fierce rebellion was sparked by the attempt to strike at Am Israel's spiritual life in the service in the Temple, in Torah study, in the observance of the Mitzvot and in the sanctity of Jewish family life. And this is the way the Book of Maccabees describes the call to war:

"And he was jealous for the sake of the Torah as Pinchas did (out of jealousy for HaShem) to Zimri the son of Salu. And Mattityahu called out in the city with a loud voice saying: Everyone who is jealous for the Torah, who adheres to the covenant, come after me."

And just as the motivation for the revolt was the attack upon the things which are sanctified for Israel, so also the national driving force which led the war and brought the victory was jealousy and desire for the Torah, the Temple and our holy way of life. And at the hour that HaShem aided them and they prevailed, the sons of Hashmonai came to light the Menorah which is the symbol and example of service in the Temple and Torah study and observance. And when B'nei Hashmonai did not find oil to light except for one flask which was sealed with the stamp of the Kohen Gadol, they regarded this flask as a divine sign directed to them, since they were the grandsons of the Kohen Gadol. And just as the flask could not light sufficiently in a natural way, so too they could not have defeated the Greek enemy by physical strength. And only HaShem's hand, which overrules the forces of nature, is what defeated our enemies, and that is what kindled anew the light of the Torah in HaShem's sanctuary and in the hearts of Israel.

And one who reads the prayer "Al HaNissim" which speaks of thankfulness for the war, and pays attention to the words, will see that everything is said there nearly explicitly:

"When the wicked Greek empire stood up over Your nation Israel to make them forget Your Torah and to cause them to transgress the laws of Your will… and they lit candles in Your holy courtyards."

According to this, it can be said that the entire victory should be named for the oil flask – "The Victory of the Flask", since the Kohanim who are anointed with oil, and are the ones who stamp with the seal of holiness, are the ones who awakened and illuminated the entire nation to wage war for its life and for its spiritual assets, which are the essence of its life. And that little flask lit a great light in Israel.

And the truth must be said, that the war of Mattityahu and his sons reflects upon all of Israel's wars – that even though some of them, from a superficial and human viewpoint, appear to be ordinary wars between nations, this is not the case. All of Israel's wars are wars over HaShem's oneness, and Israel's enemies are called, in the language of the Tanach and in the language of Chazal, the enemies of HaShem. And the entire purpose of the existence of Am Israel and its national life is to call out in the name of HaShem, and their victory at every time and place is HaShem's victory. And how fitting and correct for our days as well are the words of David Melech Israel, which were said at the outset of his battle with Goliath in Emek HaEla (1 Shmuel 17 : 45-46):

"And David said to the Philistine: You come to me with the sword, the spear and the javelin, and I come to you in the name of the Lord of Hosts, the Lord of the armies of Israel, which you have reviled. Today HaShem will deliver you into my hand, and I will smite you and I will cut your head off of you and I will give the carcass of the camp of Philistines today to the fowl of the sky and the beasts of the land and all the world will know that Israel has a G-d."