Frederick William I inspecting his Potsdam Giants.
Frederick William was obsessed with army and soldiers and that obsession earned him the title of the Soldier King.
To populate this special unit, he deployed agents across the continent to seek out exceptionally tall individuals.
Prussian educators were instructed to identify and promptly present tall children to the king.
Infants showing signs of potential height were marked with a distinctive bright red scarf.
Foreign rulers sent the king their tallest soldiers to foster friendly relations.
Peter the Great of Russia reportedly sent Frederick William I more than fifty tall soldiers.
Most men joined Frederick William Is regiment voluntarily.
Daniel Cajanus, the Swedish Giant, left the country in 1723 to join the Potsdam Giants.
Those who refused to join the Kings regiment were threatened with imprisonment or kidnapped.
One of the tallest Giants was an Irishman called James Kirkland who measured 7 feet and 1 inch.
Kirkland was sent to a Prussian ship moored in Portsmouth where he was immediately grabbed, bound and gagged.
He was then dispatched to the continent.
Frederick William I never risked this regiment at battlefield, because he cherished them too much.
When Frederick died in 1740, his Potsdam Giants counted about 3,200 men.
He disbanded the regiments and the soldiers were absorbed into various military units.
The battalion was eventually dissolved in 1806.
The Potsdam Giants during the Battle of Hohenfriedeberg.
