What is the difference between stratagem, strategy, and tactic?
Strategy is often discussed when an attack, battle, competition, or war is being planned. It is a careful plan or method for achieving a goal. Strategy is also the art of devising or employing stratagems. A stratagem is a trick or artifice used to gain advantage over an enemy or opponent. The term tactics in the military sense is concerned with the details of the deployment and movement of combat troops. Tactics in the more general sense are the device or devices for accomplishing an end. Tactics derives from Greek tassein ‘to arrange; to place in battle formation’. Strategy comes from the Greek strategia ‘generalship’ and stratagem comes from Greek strategein ‘to maneuver; to be a general’ (note that its second vowel was altered over time).
