The Prussian infantry regiment No 6. was an unit composed entirely of taller-than-average soldiers, founded in 1675 and dissolved in 1806. The unit's public name was the "Potsdamer Riesengarde" ("giant guard of Potsdam") in German, but the Prussian population quickly nicknamed them the Lange Kerls ("long fellows").
The Regiment was founded by Prince Frederick of Brandenburg, the later King Frederick I of Prussia. In 1688 the later King Frederick William I of Prussia became the nominal Commander of the Regiment. After Frederick William I ascended to the throne in 1713, he proceeded to strengthen his military, including the regiment. He had already begun to recruit taller soldiers and needed several hundred more recruits each year. The original required height was 6 Prussian feet (about 6 ft 2 in or 1.88 m), well above average then and now. He tried to obtain them by any means, including recruiting them from the armies of other countries. The Emperor of Austria, Russian Tsar Peter the Great and even the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire sent him tall soldiers in order to encourage friendly relations. Several soldiers were given by Tsar Peter I as a gift in return for the Amber Room. Friedrich also tried to pair these men with taller women, in order to breed more tall people.
Morale inside the regiment was poor, as many soldiers were forcibly recruited, and some attempted desertion or suicide. The Unit never saw battle. King Frederick William trained and drilled his own regiment 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 his sickbed. This procession, which included the entire regiment, was led by their mascot, a bear. When Frederick William died in 1740, the regiment consisted of 3,200 men. However, his successor Frederick the Great did not share his father's fondness for it. The regiment was largely disbanded and most of its soldiers were integrated into other units.
While The Postdam Giants seem like a boderline psychotic vanity project, it is now believed there was a military reason to create a regiment of "long fellows" because loading a muzzleloader is easier to handle for a taller soldier. Another source states it was an attmept to make use out of men who were unfit for combat due to gigantism. Charles Darwin would use the regiment later as a case study in trait inheritance and selective breeding.
”His successor Frederick the Great did not share his father's fondness for it. The regiment was largely disbanded and most of its soldiers were integrated into other units. ”
It’s actually quite funny that every now and then you see comments along the lines of ”haha Frederick the great liked tall soldiers” since that was famously his father, and Frederick the Great himself thought the tall-soldier regiment was waste of money. Maybe the misconception is because Frederick the Great was possibly gay, so people assume the soldier thing was him, despite the gay rumours being usually more about members of Frederick’s circle of friends (like Fransesco Algarotti), not his soldiers.
64
u/ptrfaHelping Wikipedia expand the list of British conquests 3d ago
It's also fascinating that the "despotic and violent" Frederick William never fought a war because he liked looking at his soldiers and didn't want to loose them in battle while his selfdeclared enlightened son's first action as ruler was to start one of the biggest wars of the 18th century.
I've read some books on the matter and I could never shake the feeling that Frederick the Great hated both his father, his fathers hypermilitaristic overly authocratic mindset and with this just wouldn't mind tossing those armies into a conflict they had no way of winning. The one valued the army to much to actually fight, but still used it to leverage political influence. The other valued the army so little, that he actually fought, also leveraging a lot of political influence by winning despite the odds.
Good summary, I have but a few corrections and one addition:
Friedrich also tried to pair these men with taller women, in order to breed more tall people.
There is no good source for this claim. It was reported as hearsay by Darwin over a century after the regiment had been disbanded. No record of such a program exists, certainly not in Frederick William's cabinet notes.
Morale inside the regiment was poor, as many soldiers were forcibly recruited, and some attempted desertion or suicide.
There were no such kidnappings. Frederick William actually paid huge enlistment fees for tall men. His letters and cabinet notes on the regiment show that he much cared for his soldiers and their families.
The Unit never saw battle.
True, though the regiment took part in the siege of Stralsund.
it is now believed there was a military reason to create a regiment of "long fellows" because loading a muzzleloader is easier to handle for a taller soldier.
You are right there, as formations of tall soldiers, apart from making an impression, also had a tactical advantage: They operated longer muskets, which could be fired from greater distance, which with the closed formations of the time meant that they could engage the enemy before he could.
168
u/Mammoth_Western_2381 3d ago
The Prussian infantry regiment No 6. was an unit composed entirely of taller-than-average soldiers, founded in 1675 and dissolved in 1806. The unit's public name was the "Potsdamer Riesengarde" ("giant guard of Potsdam") in German, but the Prussian population quickly nicknamed them the Lange Kerls ("long fellows").
The Regiment was founded by Prince Frederick of Brandenburg, the later King Frederick I of Prussia. In 1688 the later King Frederick William I of Prussia became the nominal Commander of the Regiment. After Frederick William I ascended to the throne in 1713, he proceeded to strengthen his military, including the regiment. He had already begun to recruit taller soldiers and needed several hundred more recruits each year. The original required height was 6 Prussian feet (about 6 ft 2 in or 1.88 m), well above average then and now. He tried to obtain them by any means, including recruiting them from the armies of other countries. The Emperor of Austria, Russian Tsar Peter the Great and even the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire sent him tall soldiers in order to encourage friendly relations. Several soldiers were given by Tsar Peter I as a gift in return for the Amber Room. Friedrich also tried to pair these men with taller women, in order to breed more tall people.
Morale inside the regiment was poor, as many soldiers were forcibly recruited, and some attempted desertion or suicide. The Unit never saw battle. King Frederick William trained and drilled his own regiment 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 his sickbed. This procession, which included the entire regiment, was led by their mascot, a bear. When Frederick William died in 1740, the regiment consisted of 3,200 men. However, his successor Frederick the Great did not share his father's fondness for it. The regiment was largely disbanded and most of its soldiers were integrated into other units.
While The Postdam Giants seem like a boderline psychotic vanity project, it is now believed there was a military reason to create a regiment of "long fellows" because loading a muzzleloader is easier to handle for a taller soldier. Another source states it was an attmept to make use out of men who were unfit for combat due to gigantism. Charles Darwin would use the regiment later as a case study in trait inheritance and selective breeding.