 Counting nilpotent matrices by the Fitting decomposition

There are $q^{n^2-n}$ nilpotent matrices of size n over $F_q$. Every matrix has a unique invariant direct sum on which it is nilpotent and invertible. Counting those ordered decompositions gives $q^{n^2}/|G{L}_n(q)|={\sum }_{k=0}^n{a}_k/|G{L}_k(q)|$. Subtraction at n and n−1 yields $a_n=q^{n^2-n}$. Translation by the identity counts unipotent matrices.