- "The rebellion is reborn today. The war is just beginning, and I will not be the last Jedi."
- ―Luke Skywalker
The Battle of Crait, also known as the siege of Crait, or the assault on 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 the newly self-appointed 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 Force 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[]
- "Get all our forces down to that Resistance base. Let's finish this."
- ―Supreme Leader Kylo Ren, to General Hux
Ren proclaimed himself as the new Supreme Leader after the death of Snoke.
Following the Resistance's victory in destroying Starkiller Base,[5] 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. 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.[1]
After Holdo's suicide run, Hux went to the throne room to report to and check on Supreme Leader Snoke. Upon reaching it, however, he found the place in shambles, littered with the bodies of the Elite Praetorian Guard, who were killed by Kylo Ren and Rey, Snoke's dismembered corpse lying near the throne and Kylo Ren lying unconscious in the wreckage. Hux tried to take advantage of the situation to kill his rival, but Kylo woke up before he could act. After he expressed disbelief at seeing Snoke's dead body, Kylo told him that Rey killed Snoke, proclaimed himself as the new Supreme Leader and ordered the First Order to move to Crait, to crush the Resistance once and for all.[1]
The battle[]
Arrival at the base[]
- "They're coming, shut the door."
- ―Leia Organa
Organa overlooks the landscape of Crait.
The remaining members of the Resistance landed and reactivated the old Rebel base. Finn, Rose Tico, and BB-8 later crash-landed at the base in a Xi-class light shuttle after escaping the damaged First Order flagship Supremacy. They were initially shot at by the Resistance soldiers in the confusion, but were unharmed. 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—now under the command of Supreme Leader Kylo Ren—deployed their own forces, landing eleven AT-M6s, two AT-ATs, one Upsilon-class command shuttle, several TIE fighters and AT-STs, and a superlaser siege cannon towed by a pair of AT-HHs to break through the base's massive steel door.[1] The walkers were deployed in a Veers Formation[6] and the forces mobilized.[1]
The battle begins[]
- "All right, listen up. I don't like these rust buckets and I don't like our odds, but...just keep it tight and don't get drawn in too close till they roll that cannon out front."
- ―Captain Poe Dameron, to "Reb" Squadron
The First Order launched overwhelming forces against the Resistance.
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.
Having no other option, flew the speeders towards the First Order's battering ram cannon in order to prevent them from entering the base and destroying the last of the Resistance. The majority of the speeders were destroyed by AT-M6 fire. As the battering ram prepared to fire, Dameron ordered the squadron to retreat and fall back to the base, Finn refused to retreat with them, instead deciding to fly his speeder into the cannon in an attempt to destroy it. Rose crashed her speeder into his in order to stop him from doing so and save his life, though she badly injured herself in the process.[1]
Arrival of the Millennium Falcon[]
- "Blow that piece of junk OUT OF THE SKY!!!"
- ―Kylo Ren
The Millennium Falcon led the TIE fighters into caverns under Crait's surface.
After the Resistance failed counter-attack, the Millennium Falcon, piloted by Chewbacca and Jedi Padawan Rey arrived unexpectedly mid battle and attacked the TIE fighters overhead, drawing them away from the battlefield and ultimately destroying all of them as the Resistance was taking heavy losses from the First Order's assault. With Rey manning the Falcon's lower AG-2G quad laser cannon, Chewbacca was able to lure the attacking TIE Fighters away from the battle through the planet's crystallized caverns, where the freighter lost its sensor dish and lower quad laser cannon during the chase.[1]
Despite Rey's successful diversion of the First Order's air support, much to the annoyance of the Supreme Leader, the Resistance was still losing and ultimately being pushed back by the First Order's sheer firepower as the First drew ever closer to the base.[1]
First Order advances[]
- "I held out hope for so long, but I know my son is gone."
" No one's ever really gone" - ―Leia Organa and Luke Skywalker
With the Resistance's effort nearly silenced, the First Order's cannon opened fire at the base, punching easily through the main doors. Supreme Leader Ren ordered General Hux to advance and to give no quarter to his enemies or take any prisoners. As snowtroopers began approaching the breach, the Resistance realized that all of the messages sent to their allies had been received, but none had responded. The destruction of the Hosnian system had achieved what the destruction of Alderaan had failed to achieve in making the galaxy too scared to fight the First Order. Greatly saddened, Organa gave up all hope and said the spark was out. In a last-ditch effort, the Resistance began preparing for a final stand.[1]
Luke and Leia reunited for the last time.
As the Resistance contemplated their next move, Jedi Master Luke Skywalker unexpectedly appeared to the group, with Skywalker greeting his sister for the first time in years. He then gave her Solo's gold dice to remember him by. Reconciling his failure to stop Ren and for not being there to stop Solo's death. The last Jedi then resolved to go out to face the First Order on his own as a distraction and to buy the Resistance time to escape. Before Skywalker went to confront his nephew, the Jedi Master wordlessly greeted his old friend C-3PO as he proceeded towards his destiny.[1]
Skywalker's intervention and escape[]
- "Did you come back to say you forgive me? To save my soul?"
"No." - ―Kylo Ren and Luke Skywalker
As Skywalker emerged from the base, Ren ordered all of the walkers to open fire on the Jedi Master in a futile attempt to destroy him. However, the Jedi miraculously emerged unscathed, and Ren felt the need to go down to the surface and face his old master himself, despite Hux's advice to the contrary. In response, Kylo Ren hurled Hux against a wall with the Force, temporarily knocking him out.[1]
Jedi Master Luke Skywalker confronted his former student, Kylo Ren.
Skywalker dodged Ren's lightsaber attacks and after evading Ren for a time, Skywalker stopped and apologized to Ren, stating that he had failed him. He also informed his former student that victory was not so certain as he believed; that the war was only beginning, and that the Jedi would continue through Rey. He then deactivated his lightsaber and offered to let Ren strike him down, but Skywalker warned him that doing so in anger would only cause him pain, just as killing Han had, and stated that in death, he would always be with his nephew. When Skywalker allowed Ren to land a blow, and the blade passed through his body without harming him, Ren realized that he was actually fighting a Force projection of the Jedi, who was still on Ahch-To. Skywalker's projection vanished, leaving Ren furious.[1]
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.[1]
Aftermath[]
- "How do we build a rebellion from this?"
"We have everything we need." - ―Rey and Leia Organa
After the battle was over, and the Resistance escaped, Luke became one with the Force.
The Battle of Crait was a victory for the First Order; the main force of the Resistance was reduced to barely over a dozen personnel aboard only a single vessel. However, the First Order failed in its main objective of completely destroying the Resistance, as some of its members—including General Organa—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.[1]
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.[1]
The Millennium Falcon was used by the Resistance to escape Crait.
As Chewbacca and Nien Nunb flew the Millennium Falcon through hyperspace, Dameron, Rey, and Finn all sat together by the dejarik board and reflected on recent events, which Dameron stated he wished recent events had gone differently due to the losses the Resistance had suffered, but Rey stated that she was beginning to learn that one could not dwell on changing the past. In an effort to provide a nice distraction from their recent losses, Dameron decided to tell Rey and Finn the background of his original mission to Jakku and how he managed to get off the desert world after he and Finn had crashed.[7] Dameron then reflected on the Battle of Takodana as Organa, who had been reflecting on her husband Han Solo while serving as the co-pilot on the Falcon before allowing Nunb to take over, entered the room. After Organa spoke to them about the Force and went to rest, Finn then went to check on how Tico was doing, and Dameron was introduced to the Porgs by Rey. When Rey asked how Maz was, Dameron assured her that she was fine, as they had spoken to her earlier.[8]
Among the remaining Resistance members on the Millennium Falcon included Poe Dameron, Rey, Finn, and BB-8.
Rey realized that she had missed a lot because, by the time Resistance troops had landed on Takodana, she had been captured by Kylo Ren. As Dameron had also been captured and tortured by Ren, he coined the nickname "torture buddies" for him and Rey, which she accepted.[8] Dameron then went over the recon mission to Starkiller Base, telling Rey that Black Squadron's recon pilots—Temmin Wexley, Karé Kun, and Jessika Pava—had created a mission plan using a recon pod.[8] At this time, R2-D2 and BB-8 were also reflecting on recent events, specifically the Battle of Starkiller Base. C-3PO briefly spoke with the two astromech droids before going to speak with Rey. Due to 3PO's extensive knowledge of various languages, Rey asked the protocol droid to help her translate the sacred Jedi texts. 3PO began to translate the texts, but he noted that he could only give a rough translation as the books' wording was ancient. Finn was currently making sure Tico was safe, and Dameron went to talk to his friend.[9]
Legacy[]
- «And then the Great Jedi Master Luke Skywalker, bravely standing alone against the First Order...»
- ―Oniho Zava retelling the Battle of Crait
Before his death, Skywalker also acknowledged Rey as the last Jedi, giving birth to another new hope for both the Jedi and the galaxy.[1] The tale of Skywalker's stand against the First Order would spread across the galaxy.[10]
The Resistance would eventually rebuild itself, gaining followers on Batuu[11] and Ryloth[12]. The war would continue for another year until the climatic Battle of Exegol[13] which ended the First Order-Resistance War.[14]
Behind the scenes[]
The Battle of Crait made its first appearance in Star Wars Battlefront II as a free level download available on December 13, 2017. The battle later appeared in the 2017 film Star Wars: Episode VIII The Last Jedi.[1] The sequences involving the Millennium Falcon were inspired by the original Star Tours ride. As such, director Rian Johnson was pleased that material from the Battle of Crait was in turn added as a part of Star Tours: The Adventures Continue.[15]
Appearances[]
Non-canon appearances[]
- Star Tours: The Adventures Continue (First appearance)
LEGO Star Wars: All-Stars — "Resistance on the Run" (Indirect mention only)- LEGO Star Wars: All-Stars — "Rolling with BB-8" (Indirect mention only)
- LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
- LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy — "Part One"
Sources[]
Notes and references[]
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.19 1.20 1.21 1.22 1.23 1.24 1.25 1.26 1.27 1.28 1.29 1.30 1.31 1.32 1.33 1.34 1.35 1.36 1.37 1.38 1.39 1.40 1.41 1.42 1.43 1.44 1.45 1.46 1.47 1.48 1.49 1.50 1.51 1.52 1.53 1.54 1.55 1.56 1.57 1.58 1.59 1.60 1.61 1.62 1.63 1.64 1.65 1.66 1.67 1.68 1.69 1.70 1.71 1.72 1.73 1.74 1.75 1.76 1.77 1.78 1.79 1.80 1.81 1.82 1.83 1.84 1.85 1.86 1.87 1.88 Star Wars: Episode VIII The Last Jedi
- ↑ Poe Dameron 29
- ↑ Poe Dameron 30
- ↑ Star Wars: Timelines
- ↑ Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens
- ↑ Star Wars: The Last Jedi: The Visual Dictionary
- ↑ Poe Dameron 26
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Poe Dameron 27
- ↑ Poe Dameron 28
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 The Last Jedi Adaptation 6
- ↑ Galaxy's Edge: Black Spire
- ↑ Resistance Reborn
- ↑ Star Wars: Episode IX The Rise of Skywalker
- ↑ The Star Wars Book
- ↑ Star Wars: Episode VIII The Last Jedi special feature - "Scene Breakdown: Showdown on Crait"
