Battle of Crait

"The rebellion is reborn today. The war is just beginning."

- Luke Skywalker

The Battle of Crait was a major battle fought in 34 ABY during the war between the First Order and the Resistance. Shortly after the Resistance's victory at Starkiller Base, the Battle of Crait was the result of the First Order's counterattack, which had decimated the Resistance forces. Unable to escape the First Order Navy, the Resistance, led by General Leia Organa, fled to a former Rebel outpost on the salt-covered planet Crait, hoping to go unnoticed. However, the First Order became aware of the Resistance's plan and deployed their military forces to the planet's surface.

Led by Supreme Leader Kylo Ren and General Armitage Hux, the First Order deployed a superlaser siege cannon, planning to break through the massive door which protected the outpost. The Resistance, limited in numbers, had planned to hold out in the base until more allies arrived, but in response to the First Order cannon, the remaining Resistance troops utilized V-4X-D ski speeders to attack the weapon. The Resistance airspeeders faced many losses against the TIE/fo space superiority fighters of the First Order, but when the light freighter Millennium Falcon arrived to help the Resistance, Ren redirected the TIE fighters to pursue the starship. Although the Resistance ski speeders were no longer targeted by the TIE fighters, their efforts were unsuccessful, and the siege cannon fired upon the outpost.

With the base vulnerable and no reinforcements responding to their call, the Resistance lost hope, until Organa's brother, Jedi Master Luke Skywalker, appeared before them as a projection through the Force. Buying time for the Resistance to escape, Skywalker exited the outpost to face Ren in a lightsaber duel. As Skywalker confronted Ren, Captain Poe Dameron led the Resistance through the caves of Crait, hoping to find a natural exit. When Ren realized he was fighting Skywalker's projection, the avatar disappeared, and Ren led his stormtroopers into the base. The First Order stormed the outpost, but the Resistance survivors escaped with Rey and Chewbacca aboard the Millennium Falcon, inspiring rebellion across the galaxy.

Prelude
Following the Resistance's major victory in destroying Starkiller Base, the Resistance abandoned their base on D'Qar after the First Order invaded the Ileenium system. While the Resistance was searching the galaxy for a new base of operations, General Armitage Hux tracked the Resistance fleet through hyperspace and gave chase through space. Vice Admiral Amilyn Holdo eventually sacrificed herself and her cruiser to allow the remaining Resistance fighters to escape to the planet Crait in the Crait system.

The battle
The remaining members of the Resistance landed and reactivated the old Rebel base. Finn and Rose Tico later crash-landed at the base in a Xi-class light shuttle after escaping the damaged First Order flagship Supremacy, initially being shot at by the Resistance soldiers in the confusion. General Leia Organa called upon their allies across the Outer Rim Territories for reinforcements as the group prepared the base's defenses, including several laser turrets and V-4X-D ski speeders. Meanwhile the First Order&mdash;now under the command of Supreme Leader Kylo Ren&mdash;deployed their own forces, landing at least six AT-M6s, two AT-ATs, one Upsilon-class command shuttle, and several TIE fighters along with a superlaser siege cannon towed by All Terrain Heavy Haulers to break through the base's massive steel doors.

The Resistance launched all of their remaining forces, firing heavy artillery and dispatching thirteen of the ski speeders to knock out the superlaser, led by Poe Dameron. The First Order walkers and TIE fighters returned fire anhe battle began. The Resistance suffered heavy losses from the combined ground and air assaults. The Millennium Falcon, piloted by Chewbacca and Rey, arrived unexpectedly and attacked the fighters, drawing them away from the battlefield. As the battering ram prepared to open fire, Dameron ordered all speeders to fall back as it would be a suicide run. Finn, however, disobeyed and piloted his speeder directly towards the barrel of the cannon. Unwilling to let Finn die, Tico crashed her speeder into his, saving Finn's life but badly injuring herself. With the Resistance's effort nearly silenced, the First Order's cannon opened fire at the base, punching easily through the main doors. As snowtroopers approach the breach, the Resistance realized that all of the messages sent to their allies had been received, but none had responded. In a last-ditch effort, The Resistance began preparing for a final stand.

The Duel
As the Resistance began to contemplate their next move, Luke Skywalker unexpectedly appeared to the group and resolved to go out to face the First Order on his own as a distraction. With Luke's plan in motion and no other place to turn, Dameron ordered the group to follow Vulptices to find try and find an escape. As Skywalker emerged from the base, Ren ordered all of the walkers to open fire on Skywalker in a futile attempt to destroy him. However, the Jedi Master miraculously emerged unscathed, despite the barrage unloaded against him, and Ren was forced to go down to the surface and face his old Master himself. After a brief but fierce battle, Ren realized that the Skywalker he was fighting was actually just a Force projection, projected by Skywalker himself, who was still on Ahch-To. This heroic act would cost Skywalker his life. Meanwhile, with the time bought by Luke's distraction, the Resistance found the end of the base's cave system, but saw that a rockslide had blocked the exit to the outside. From the other side of the blockage, Rey used the Force to lift the rocks and cleared a path for them escape to the Falcon, living to fight another day.

Aftermath
The Battle of Crait was a Pyrrhic victory for the First Order as they failed in their main objective of utterly destroying the Resistance, as some of its members&mdash;including their leader&mdash;escaped the battle to continue their struggle. Kylo Ren also failed in his attempt to destroy the Jedi Order by murdering his uncle, Luke Skywalker, who had simply been projecting his image across the galaxy. The First Order fleet was also decimated, Vice Admiral Holdo's sacrifice having destroyed their flagship and many escort cruisers.

After the battle, Luke Skywalker, having heavily exerted himself in the effort to buy time for the Resistance, became one with the Force. His passing was felt by Rey and General Organa, who noted that he was content and at peace. Rey worried that the Resistance was all but destroyed, since they were down to little more than two dozen people but Organa reassured her, saying they had everything they needed to rebuild.

The tale of Skywalker's stand against the First Order quickly spread across the galaxy, inspiring many to support the Resistance and stand against the First Order. Before his death, Skywalker also acknowledged Rey's position as the last Jedi, giving birth to new hope for both the Order and the galaxy.

Behind the scenes
The first footage of the battle was shown in the Star Wars: The Last Jedi theatrical trailer on October 9, 2017. The battle of Crait made its first appearance in Star Wars Battlefront II as a a free downloadable level available on December 13, 2017. the battle made its first formal appearance on December 15, 2017 with the release of the film, Star Wars: Episode VIII The Last Jedi

Appearances

 * Star Wars Battlefront II
 * Star Wars: Episode VIII The Last Jedi

Non-canon appearances

 * Star Tours: The Adventures Continue