four squadrons of 200 men each. The squadron was the tactical unit of the cavalry and consisted of two companies of 100 men each. The Swedish heavy cavalryman was equipped with a rapier almost one metre long (primarily for thrusting and secondarily for slashing), a carbine, two pistols, and a cuirass. Each dragoon was equipped with a rapier, musket (with bayonet), and two pistols. The Drabant Corps was a special unit made up of approximately 150 men under the personal command of King Charles XII, of which he was captain. To become a private in the corps, one had to attain the rank of captain in the regular army. The corps second in command was a colonel with the title of Kaptenlöjtnant (Lieutenant-Captain). This corps fought to the bitter end, and some of its veterans carried Charles XII's coffin to Stockholm for burial in 1719. Certain irregular units were also used, most notably the Vlachs cavalry. However, these were not suited for combat, but only reconnaissance and to chase routed enemies. Tactics Swedish military doctrine of the Carolean era was distinguished by its emphasis on aggressive action and shock tactics, the so-called gå-på (literally "go-on") method. This attitude stood in contrast to other European armies of the period, which were coming to rely increasingly on musketry, delivered in the form of volley fire by line infantry, to win battles. As such, Swedish armies continued to field large numbers of pikemen throughout the Great Northern War, even though the weapon had largely disappeared from western European battlefields by that time. Similarly, the proportion of heavy cavalry in the Swedish army was unusually high by western standards. Indeed, of the 31,000 Swedish soldiers who participated in Charles XII's Russian campaign, some 16800 troops, over half the overall force, were cavalrymen. Gå-på tactics enabled the Caroleans to repeatedly overcome much larger enemy armies, as the psychological impact of their rapid approach and their steely discipline under fire, combined with their fearsome reputation, often served to unsettle the opposing troops even before physical contact was made. Moreover, if some enemy troops lost their nerve and fled then panic could quite easily spread through the rest of the enemy force, so a quick success against even a relatively small enemy unit was often enough to trigger a general rout. The preference for aggressive action also served, perhaps counterintuitively, as a way to reduce losses, as