Potsdam giants - the story of a special unit (8 photos)

During his long 27-year reign, the Prussian King Friedrich Wilhelm I greatly increased the size of his army, making it the largest and one of the best-equipped and trained armies in Europe.





Friedrich Wilhelm I paid special attention to the creation of a well-trained and effective armed forces to protect and promote the interests of the state. The military reforms initiated by the ruler became the basis for the subsequent successes of the country under the leadership of his son, Friedrich II, who transformed the state from a small German kingdom into a great European power.



Friedrich Wilhelm I

Friedrich Wilhelm was literally obsessed with this trend, and such an obsession earned him the recognized title of the soldier king. Particularly strange was his obsession with tall fighters, despite the fact that the monarch himself was quite modest, only 1.62.





Almost immediately after coming to power in 1713, King Friedrich Wilhelm I began forming a unique regiment that became known as the Potsdam Guard (Potsdamer Riesengarde), later called the "Potsdam Giants." To fill out this special unit, he sent people across the continent to find very tall guys. The ruler offered good conditions to stimulate interest, including compensation for parents who provided tall sons and landowners who released the tallest workers into service.



Prussian teachers were ordered to find tall children and immediately introduce them to Friedrich. Children with signs of potential growth were marked with a noticeable scarf of bright red color. Foreign monarchs sent their tallest soldiers to the king to strengthen friendly relations between the countries. Our Emperor Peter the Great sent Friedrich Wilhelm I more than 50 tall soldiers.



Most of the boys joined the regiment voluntarily. Daniel Cajanus, the "Swedish Giant", left the country in 1723 to join the Potsdam Giants. He is believed to have been 2.48 meters tall, but more reputable sources say he was closer to 2.38 meters, which is still respectable.



James Kirkland

Those who did not volunteer were threatened with imprisonment and even kidnapping. One of the tallest soldiers was the Irishman James Kirkland. He grew to 2.16 meters. The boy agreed to work as a footman for Baron Bork, the Prussian ambassador to London, but in reality, the offer turned out to be a setup. Kirkland was sent to a Prussian ship in Portsmouth. The poor candidate for footman was seized, tied up and gagged. He was then sent to the Continent.



The "giants" were given first-class food and lodging, dressed in blue and red uniforms, boots with solid heels and hats 45 centimeters high to make them look even taller. The soldiers were paid according to their height: the taller the man, the more they were paid. Friedrich Wilhelm I never sent this regiment into battle. The king valued giants too much, and the unit was something of a pet for him.

But the ruler delighted his eyes by forcing them to march in front of his window every day. He even painted portraits of the soldiers from memory and showed them to members of foreign delegations and dignitaries to impress them.



The Potsdam Giants during the Battle of Hohenfriedeberg

When Frederick died in 1740, his "Potsdam Giants" numbered about 3,200 men. However, his son Frederick the Great did not share his father's enthusiasm for the regiments, which seemed to him an unnecessary waste of funds. He ordered the unit to be disbanded, and the soldiers were distributed among other regiments. The regiment itself became a battalion and saw action during the War of the Austrian Succession at Hohenfriedberg in 1745 and the Seven Years' War, before finally being disbanded in 1806.