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When Friedrich Wilhelm I of Prussia ascended to the throne in 1713 he proceeded to decrease expenses of the court and strengthen his military. He let Prince Leopold of Anhalt-Dessau improve the drill and weapons of his army and hired 40,000 foreign mercenaries. He believed in harsh discipline.
The Potsdam Giants was based on the king's personal regiment that his father has given him to play with. He had already begun to recruit taller soldiers for it. Official name of the regiment was the 'Grand Grenadiers of Potsdam' or ' Potsdam Grenadiers' for short. However, when the amount of tall soldiers increased, the regiment earned its nickname 'Potsdam Giants'. Their uniform was a red hat, blue jacket with goldFor alternative meanings, see gold (disambiguation Gold is a chemical element in the periodic table that has the symbol Au ( L. aurum and atomic number 79. A soft, shiny, yellow, heavy, malleable, ductile (trivalent and univalent) transition metal, gold d trim, scarletAlternate meaning: Scarlet (color Scarlet was a type of woollen cloth common in mediaeval England. The name refers to the actual cloth, not the reddish orange colour. It is probable that name of the character Will Scarlett in the Robin Hood legends referr trousersTrousers (or " pants" in North American English) are an item of clothing worn on the lower part of the body and covering both legs separately (rather than together as in skirts and dresses). Trousers are worn at the hips or waist, and may be held up by th, whiteAlternate meanings: White (disambiguation White is a color (more accurately it contains all the colors of the spectrum and is sometimes described as an achromatic color black is the absence of color) that has high brightness but zero hue. The impression stockingA stocking is a close-fitting, variously elastic garment covering the foot and lower part of the leg, but usually not intended to conceal the leg. It was formerly made of woven cloth but now of knitted wool, silk, cotton or nylon (see Hosiery). The word ss, and blackThis article is about the color black; for other uses, see Black (disambiguation). Black is a color with several subtle differences in meaning. Color or light Black can be defined as the visual impression experienced in directions from which no visible li shoeFootwear A shoe is a piece of footwear for humans, less than a boot and more than a slipper. This footwear is shaped to fit the foot (or the area below the ankle) with a flexible upper part of leather (or plastic) usually and a sole and heel of heavier mas. Their weapons were musketA musket is a muzzle-loaded, smooth-bore long gun. It is fired from the shoulder, except for the rare wall guns. The date of their origin is unknown, but they were obsolete by the middle of the 19th century, having been superseded by rifles. Typical calibs, white bandoleers, and daggers. The soldiers wore a hat without a brim in order to be able to throw their heavy grenades with ease.
The original required height was 1.8 meters (5'11"). Tallest soldiers were reportedly 2.7 meters (about 9 feet) in height. The king who was 1.5 meters (4'11" feet) himself needed few hundred more recruits each year. He tried to obtain them by any means, and once confided to the French ambassador that "The most beautiful girl or woman in the world would be a matter of indifference to me, but tall soldiers--they are my weakness." He gave bonuses to fathers of tall sons and landowners who gave up their tallest farm workers to join the regiment. He recruited tall soldiers from the armies of other European countries. Foreign rulers like the Emperor of Austria, Russian Tsar Peter the Great and even the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire sent tall soldiers to him in order to encourage friendly relations.
If the man concerned was not interested, the king resorted to forced recruitment and kidnapping his agents kidnapped tall priests, monks, innkeepers, etc, from all over the Europe. Once they even tried to abduct an Austrian diplomat. He even forced tall women to marry tall soldiers so they could breed more tall boys. If some regiment commander failed to inform the king of a potential tall recruit under his own command, he faced royal displeasure.
Pay was high but not all giants were content, especially if they were forcibly recruited. They attempted desertion or suicide. The king's idea to stretch his troopers to make them taller was met with open rebellion.
The king never risked the Giants in battle. He trained and drilled them every day. He liked to paint their portraits from memory. He tried to show them to foreign visitors and dignitaries to impress them. At times he would try to cheer himself up by ordering them to march before him, even if he was in sickbed.
When the king died in 1740, crown prince Frederick future Frederick the Great did not share his sentiments about the regiment, which seemed to him an unnecessary expense. He dismissed the Giants. Forcibly recruited foreigners returned to their home countries after a long service.
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