Battle of Crait

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

- Luke Skywalker

The Battle of Crait, also known as the siege 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 apparition disappeared, and Ren led his stormtroopers into the base. The First Order stormed the outpost, but with Skywalker having distracted the First Order for an ample amount of time, 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.

Arrival at the base
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 eleven AT-M6s, two AT-ATs, one Upsilon-class command shuttle, several TIE fighters, and a superlaser siege cannon towed by a pair of AT-HHs to break through the base's massive steel doors.

The battle begins
The Resistance launched all of their remaining forces, firing heavy artillery and dispatching thirteen of the old V-4X-D ski speeders to knock out the superlaser, led by Captain Poe Dameron. The First Order walkers and TIE fighters returned fire and the 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 and destroying all of the pursuers.

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 approached 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 and escape
"Did you come back to say you forgive me? To save my soul?" "No."

- Kylo Ren and Luke Skywalker

As the Resistance contemplated 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. 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, and Ren was forced to go down to the surface and face his old master himself. In a brief confrontation, Skywalker dodged Ren's lightsaber attacks. When Skywalker allowed Ren to land a blow, Ren realized that he was actually fighting a projection of the Jedi, who was still on Ahch-To. Skywalker's projection vanished, leaving Ren furious.

Meanwhile, Dameron and C-3PO noticed that the vulptices, creatures which resided in the caves, had gone, leaving through a natural exit. Following a remaining vulptex, Dameron led the surviving Resistance members in search of the exit. With the time bought by Skywalker'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 the surviving Resistance fighters to escape to the Falcon, living to fight another day.

Aftermath
"How do we build a rebellion from this?''" "''We have everything we need."

- Rey and Leia Organa

The Battle of Crait was a victory for the First Order. However, the First Order failed in its main objective of completely destroying the Resistance, as some of its members&mdash;including General Organa&mdash;escaped the battle to continue their struggle. Ren also failed to destroy the Jedi Order by murdering Skywalker, who had been projecting his image across the galaxy.

After the battle, 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 Organa, who noted that he was content and at peace. Rey worried that the Resistance was all but destroyed, 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 another new hope for both the Jedi 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 as the climax sequence of Star Wars: Episode VIII The Last Jedi.

Appearances

 * Star Wars Battlefront II
 * Star Wars: Episode VIII The Last Jedi
 * Star Wars: The Last Jedi: Expanded Edition
 * Star Wars: The Last Jedi: A Junior Novel
 * The Last Jedi storybook
 * The Last Jedi Read-Along Storybook and CD

Non-canon appearances

 * Star Tours: The Adventures Continue