"Why is there so little out there for the WSS?" Topic

I recently did a small commission for some 28mm Regiment Bretagne, and I really enjoyed it and started reading about the period. It is very interesting, and it got me thinking I have never seen a WSS game in-person. Granted I do live in the U.S. and I usually only attend local cons, but still it seems like WSS needs a little more love.
How I painted those Regiment Bretagne figures and the method that made white uniforms easy if anyone is interested.
link

I've got a project going in 15mm though I have taken a break to figure out what I am going to do to fill in figurewise. Wanted to do all Editions Brokaw, but I'll be short. But yeah, it is hard to find uniform info, even project WSS is sparse.

I'm guessing, but I'd say the limited tactical repertoire is a major factor, and the scarcity of historical small battles. It's build a Blenheim-size army or go home, which to me makes it a 6mm or even a 2mm project. That in turn kills the fancy uniforms and leaves you with the limited tactics.

But you used to see a few in the HMGS-EAST cons, before the demise of horse and musket warfare, and they still show up at the SYWA Convention. See you there?

The period is fascinating. I started out doing 15s but switched to 25s after a short period as I felt the look was much more satisfying. This site was really helpful: https:https://kronoskaf.com/wss/index.php?title=Main_Page

My WSS stuff is all 2mm as I really couldn't be bothered figuring out what passed for 'uniform' details in those days. Even getting the jackets, trousers and flags decent was hard enough.

Done all the big battles though, some of them several times, and there was quite a lot going on outside of Flanders.

The figures get reused for the seventeenth century and late eighteenth century stuff too. Just need some pike blocks and fully armoured cavalry for TYW and ECW.

My group has rather extensive WSS armies in 15/18mm. WE use BLB for gaming and play monthly games. A group in the Dallas area are currently using 28mm figures but I do not know their rule set. My collections alone include French, Bavarian, Dutch, British, Austrian, Savoyard, some German states and a single LC unit of Turks!

That's a fair point – I do have some WSS infantry but they mostly wind up being used as Reicharmee troops for SYW!

I have tried to find books that cover the whole and can't. They focus on just one area of the war. So, never have developed much of an interest in gaming it.

Check out the Helion book on Marlborough's Peninsular Army and the book on the Savoyard Army. Lots of good background and uniform info. In both case they don't give much about the French/Bourbon Spanish except overall numbers

Second Helion books. Also, check out Soldier Shop Publications from Italy. Be sure that when you order you select in English! Soldier Shop can be obtained in the USA thru Amazon. Have ordered many thru Amazon and delivery is (of course) amazing.

Large WSS collection of almost all western armies (3,000 + and probably 5k painted in local San Fernando Valley/Los Angeles gaming group), but no GNW armies yet. Includes Ottomans, Imperials, Bavaria, Maritime powers, Spanish, and France of course. All in 25/28mm miniatures. Our rules are completely different from the general public printed sources, with era improvements from our FRW and Imperial Napoleonic rules in use since 1977. Use 80/per figure ratio, 50 yds inch so we can easily game the big battles on 12/15' by 6 table. The differences between cavalry operations noted in the rules…Arm blanch vs fire then charge, or pure cavalry firepower to stop the charge are nationality identities for example. Play two games per quarter on average, mostly historical researched battles. Recommend the Project WSS site for first reading material then spread the search for individual armies. There is lot of ready available army information out there, especially on CD for low prices. As for smaller battles, many listed with some detail on the Project WSS site.

Project WSS: link

Another site called Tacitus covers the eastern armies: tacitus.nu/english.html

Baccus has information on WSS: link

I haven't researched the WSS in quite some time, so my info might be a bit out of date; however, I thought that the Editions Brokaw booklets were quite good. I'm not sure if you can find them online or at Ebay. Maybe On Military Matters still has a few running around.

I believe Caliver did a series on the uniforms of the WSS. I second Shagnasty's and Dye4minis's suggestions – Helion and Soldier Shop Publications are excellent!

In addition to the sources mentioned by Rabbit, there are the usual Ospreys, and several older C.S. Grant organization and uniform guides. Oh, and Warflag has some flags available.

The Pike and Shot Society has some period scenario books for its Twilight of the Sun King rules that include about 20 or so battles on the various fronts, so there is info available for some of the smaller battles if that helps.

The Society's Sun King rules are interesting and seem to allow for relatively quick games, but have some mechanisms that may not be acceptable for all-for example musketry fire is really subsumed in the morale rules.

Ya'll are tempting me to start a new project . . .

HA! If you weren't interested, you wouldn't have done the original post. But look carefully first. A period can be interesting to read about without producing interesting tabletop battles.

I game it in 6mm (love Baccus and I also blame them for my 6mm love) with Maurice rules.

Thousands of 28mm WSS. Game some but time and kids put a damper on it. But crank out an 18man unit every few weeks, intertwined with other projects, throughout the year. Love the period! It can always use a little more TLC.

Prince Albert's Revenge, I've been looking at Maurice, is it similar to Longstreet?

If you want uniform and flag details for WSS armies, look the Hall CDs. They cover most everything even some of the very small countries. I think On Military Matters or Cavalier might still have them.

The Pike and Shot Society offers high quality printed versions of the Hall books – link

Look for the CDs by Robert Hall. These are CDs that have uniform, flags/standards, unit histories, etc, and ALL with color pictures of said uniforms. I have most all of them and they are the best resource for WSS information. To give you an idea of what these cover, go to On Military Matters (OMM) and search for "Flags and Uniforms of the French Infantry under Louis XIV 1688-1714". If OMM has it, BUY IT! Otherwise, search eBay or Amazon for those discs because you'll find it covers – French infantry & cavalry, Hanover, Celle, and Brunswick, Electorate Palatine, Mecklenburg & Holstein-Gottorp, Hesse-Kassell, Hesse-Darmstradt & Upper Rhine.
I think you all get the idea. I'm looking on the OMM site now under the 'Marlburian' heading and I see the CDs as well as PDFs available. You will NOT be disappointed.