ELEMENTS OF MILITARY ART AND SCIENCE. Course Of Instruction In Strategy, Fortification, Tactics Of Battles. Military Tactics, Strategy, Art and Science to 1865. Military tactics, the science and art of organizing a military force, are the techniques for using weapons or military units in combination for engaging and defeating an enemy in battle. Changes in philosophy and technology over time have been reflected in changes to military tactics. In current military thought, tactics are the lowest of three planning levels. The highest tier of planning is the strategy, which is about how force is translated into political objectives, or more specifically how you bridge the means and ends of war together. An intermediate level, which converts strategy into tactics is the operational level that deals with formations of units. In common vernacular, "tactical" decisions are those made to achieve greatest immediate value and "strategic" decisions are those made to achieve the greatest overall value irrespective of immediate return. Learn how battles where fought and WHY they where fought that way by examining the minds behind the decisions.