go without

Instead of using charts, counters and maps, fall back on the staple of atmospheric description and a few important dice rolls. This more abstract method means that the course of the battle will have to be planned out, but remember that the size and scope of the fighting will vary in relation to the importance of the players. If they are part of a fire team, they will only see the segment of the battlefield they are fighting on, whereas if they are the Mage-Lords, they will expect to direct the entire engagement from Dragonback. The former is the easier to manage with the descriptive method.

go all-out

Bring the role-playing part of the session to a comfortable halt and get out the maps and counters. You'll find that the players will remain in character anyway (I've seen many wargamers role-playing like crazy in their games - after all, if you enjoy playing a Napoleonic General, you'll probably end up role-playing him), leading to all the conflicts and arguments we know and love. This method is better suited to the latter example above, where PCs are Admirals and Lords rather than just grunts. The GM's workload is increased here, as the course of the battle has to be watched to make sure it doesn't upset future plans for the campaign while still being fluid enough to be enjoyable. The GM will also have to do some more paperwork afterwards to balance things out, considering losses and so on.

Task Force Games publishes Central Casting: Heroes of Legend. Inside you will find military event charts perfect for quick battles, and also for adding interesting combat events to the PCs' otherwise boring lives.

mix-and-match

A bit of half and half here; you can let your PCs play grunts-in-themud for the RPG part of the game and rear-echelon generals (not necessarily on the same side) in the wargame segment. Once again, this calls for a fair bit of paperwork (you get the best and worst of both worlds), but it can make for some interesting in-character conflict. Imagine Bob the general having to send Bob the grunt into the valley of death... another way to handle it is by having the players provide orders for the greater battle before running the scenario, use them to work out the course of things, and then role-play from that basis. Be sure to toss in a few unexpected turns, just to keep them on their toes.

The best solution is to consider a spread of options, then present them to the player group and find the happy medium, because while some role-players are just itching to start crossing off those little boxes on their control sheets, others will run a mile when you start unfolding map boards and passing out zillions of counters...

War Zones

War's Lasting Effects
War Party
Art of Wargames
Art of Wargames Options