King Frederick William I of the German kingdom of Prussia had ambitious military plans. In 1713, he became the King, and for the next twenty-seven years, he massively expanded his army from 38,000 soldiers to 83,000. The king paved the way for his son, Frederick the Great, to turn Prussia into a military force to be reckoned with.

However, Frederick William had a strange obsession with particularly tall men. This led to the creation of a personal regiment of them, who became known as the ‘Potsdam Giants’. Some of these giants joined voluntarily, but others were given as gifts or even kidnapped. Even more disturbingly, the king tried to ‘breed’ tall people in an early attempt at eugenics.

Who could become one of the Potsdam Giants?

Although officially known as ‘The Grand Grenadiers’, nearly everyone called them the ‘Potsdam Giants’ or ‘Lange Kerle’ (The Long Guys). The regiment’s only entry requirement was to be six Prussian feet tall (about six foot two or 1.88 meters) or above. The taller, the better, as the soldiers’ pay was based on their height.

The ‘Giants’ didn’t have to be Prussian and came from all over the world - and Frederick William eagerly obtained them by any means possible. Some were recruited from other armies or regiments, and some volunteered.

As his regiment and passion for tall soldiers grew, foreign leaders, such as the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, and Tsar Peter the Great, sent numerous tall soldiers to improve relations.

However, others were kidnapped, sold to the regiment, or even more disturbingly, bred for the role.