The Prussian King Frederick William I Recruited the Tallest Men to Be Found into His Regiment, Known as the King's Own

The Prussian King Frederick William I recruited the tallest men to be found into his regiment, known as His Majesty's Regiment. The minimum height of the soldiers in this regiment was 1 metre 88 centimetres, which is why the formation became known as the Potsdam Giants. One of the tallest lads of Frederick I was an Irishman standing 2 metres 17 centimetres.

Men from various countries served in the regiment, presented as gifts by the rulers of friendly states. Peter I, aware of the Prussian king's passion, made a present of 248 sturdy fellows and sent another 152 giants into service. Anna Ioannovna added a further 80 men. And only Elizabeth Petrovna demanded that the Russian strongmen who still remained be returned to their homeland.

Frederick spoke of the matter plainly: "The fairest girl or woman in the world means nothing to me, but tall soldiers are my weakness."

What was done with these tall fellows in the regiment? Some believe that many of them were in fact unfit for service precisely because of their dimensions. How the lads were treated is hard to say, but many of them ended their lives by suicide, unable to reconcile themselves to their lot.

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The Prussian King Frederick William I Recruited the Tallest Men to Be Found into His Regiment, Known as the King's Own

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