Friedrich Wilhelm I of Prussia, often known as the "Soldier King," had a remarkable and unusual obsession with assembling a regiment of extremely tall soldiers, known as the "Potsdam Giants" or "Lange Kerls" (meaning "Tall Fellows"). 

Standing at least 6 feet tall, these soldiers were meticulously recruited from across Europe. Friedrich Wilhelm even went as far as paying other rulers for tall men, and his agents would scour villages, sometimes forcibly enlisting towering peasants into his regiment.

Friedrich Wilhelm I also went as far as kidnapping tall men to serve in his beloved regiment and his obsession with finding the tallest soldiers for this special unit led to some extreme and bizarre recruitment methods.

While he preferred to acquire tall soldiers through more conventional means, such as offering money or negotiating with other rulers, he wasn't above using force or coercion. His agents were dispatched all over Europe to find tall men, and they often resorted to kidnapping if persuasion or payment failed. Some soldiers were forcibly conscripted or even taken against their will while going about their daily lives. There are stories of these men being dragged away from their homes or workplaces, sometimes at night, and shipped to Prussia to serve in the Potsdam regiment.

Once in Prussia, these soldiers were treated relatively well compared to regular conscripts. They were given comfortable lodgings and received higher pay, but they were essentially prisoners—kept for their height and paraded around for the king's personal amusement. Friedrich Wilhelm I valued these men so highly that he would often arrange marriages between the tallest soldiers and tall women, hoping to produce equally tall offspring.

One famous story involves an Irish giant named James Kirkland, who was reportedly kidnapped and brought to Prussia. His height (said to be over 7 feet) made him a prized addition to the regiment, despite his unwilling recruitment.

Although these methods were extreme, Friedrich Wilhelm I saw the height of his soldiers as a reflection of Prussia's military prestige. His bizarre fixation