The first major Japanese counterattack occurred on 6 and 7 April, in the form of attacks by kamikaze aircraft and a naval operation, called "Ten-Go". A force, under the command of Admiral Seiichi Itō, consisting of the battleship "Yamato", the light cruiser "Yahagi" and eight destroyers was assembled. This force was to be used as bait to draw away as many American carrier aircraft from Okinawa as possible, in order to leave Allied naval forces vulnerable to large scale Kamikaze attacks. The Japanese were short of fuel, consequently the "Yamato" had only enough to reach Okinawa. Off Okinawa it was planned to beach the battleship and use her guns to support the fighting on the island. After being sighted by an American submarine and reconnaissance aircraft, naval attack aircraft were sent to attack the Japanese force resulting in the sinking of the "Yamato", "Yahagi" and four of the destroyers. Mass Kamikaze attacks intensified during the following three months, with a total of 5,500 sorties being flown by the Japanese.