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procession, which included the entire regiment, was led by their mascot, a bear. He 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". Their uniform was not in any way unique for the time, consisting of a red
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mentions this attempt as the only case of intentional selective breeding in humans: "Nor have certain male and female individuals been intentionally picked out and matched, except in the well-known case of the
Prussian grenadiers; and in this case man obeyed, as might have been expected, the law of
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did not share his father's sentiments about the regiment, which seemed to him an unnecessary expense. The regiment was largely disbanded and most of its soldiers were integrated into other units. The regiment itself was downgraded to a battalion (Garde – Grenadier No. 6) and employed during the
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The king 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
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then and now. The king was about 1.60 m (5 ft 3 in) tall himself. He tried to obtain them by any means, including recruiting them from the armies of other countries. The
Emperor of Austria, Russian
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became the nominal
Commander of the Regiment. After Frederick William I ascended to the throne in 1713, he proceeded to strengthen his military, including hiring 40,000
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254:, the Potsdam Giants never saw battle during his reign. Some sources state that there was a military reason to create a regiment of "long fellows" because loading a
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No 6. The regiment was composed of taller-than-average soldiers, and was founded in 1675. It was eventually dissolved in 1806, after the
Prussians were defeated by
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158:(1688–1740), the unit was known as the "Potsdamer Riesengarde" ("giant guard of Potsdam") in German, but the Prussian population quickly nicknamed them the
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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 famous
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methodical selection; for it is asserted that many tall men were reared in the villages inhabited by the grenadiers with their tall wives."
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As the number of tall soldiers increased, the regiment earned its nickname "Potsdam Giants". The original required height was 6
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is easier to handle for a taller soldier. Another source states that many of the men were unfit for combat due to their
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Legendäre „lange Kerls“. Quellfen zur
Regimentskultur der Königsgrenadiere Friedrich Wilhelms I., 1713–1740
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in 1675 as “Regiment
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When the king died in 1740, the regiment consisted of 3,200 men. However, his successor
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Frederick tried to pair these men with tall women, in order to breed giants. In
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Biography of
Frederick William I the Soldier King of Prussia (1657-1713)
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Die Langen Kerls. Das Leib- und
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Die Langen Kerls - Die preussische
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Military units and formations disestablished in 1806
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The descent of man, and selection in relation to sex
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548:Military units and formations established in 1675
209:(about 6 ft 2 in or 1.88 m), well
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363:in 1806 and was disbanded and absorbed into the
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109:Learn how and when to remove this message
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