Battle of Crait

Following the Resistance's victory in destroying Starkiller Base, the Resistance abandoned their base on D'Qar when the First Order invaded the Ileenium system. As the Resistance searched the galaxy for a new operational center, General Armitage Hux tracked the Resistance fleet through hyperspace and initiated a pursuit. Vice Admiral Amilyn Holdo ultimately sacrificed herself and her cruiser to enable the remaining Resistance fighters to flee to the planet Crait located within the Crait system.

After Holdo's sacrificial maneuver, Hux proceeded to the throne room to report to and check on Supreme Leader Snoke. However, upon arrival, he discovered the room in disarray, littered with the bodies of the Elite Praetorian Guard, who had been slain by Kylo Ren and Rey. Snoke's dismembered corpse lay near the throne, and Kylo Ren was unconscious amidst the wreckage. Hux attempted to exploit the situation to eliminate his rival, but Kylo awoke before he could act. After expressing disbelief at Snoke's death, Kylo declared that Rey had killed Snoke, proclaimed himself the new Supreme Leader, and ordered the First Order to advance on Crait to crush the Resistance once and for all.

The surviving members of the Resistance landed and reactivated the old Rebel base. Finn, Rose Tico, and BB-8 subsequently crash-landed at the base in a Xi-class light shuttle after escaping the damaged First Order flagship Supremacy. Initially mistaken for enemies, they were fired upon by Resistance soldiers, but remained unharmed. General Leia Organa appealed to their allies throughout 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 leadership of Supreme Leader Kylo Ren—deployed their forces, consisting of eleven AT-M6s, two AT-ATs, one Upsilon-class command shuttle, numerous TIE fighters and AT-STs, and a superlaser siege cannon towed by a pair of AT-HHs, to penetrate the base's massive steel door. The walkers were deployed in a Veers Formation as the forces mobilized.

The Resistance deployed their remaining forces, unleashing heavy artillery fire and sending thirteen of the outdated V-4X-D ski speeders, led by Captain Poe Dameron, to disable the superlaser. The First Order walkers and TIE fighters returned fire, initiating the battle. The Resistance incurred significant casualties from the combined ground and air assaults.

With no alternative, the speeders advanced towards the First Order's battering ram cannon to prevent them from breaching the base and annihilating the remaining Resistance forces. The majority of the speeders were destroyed by AT-M6 fire. As the battering ram prepared to fire, Dameron ordered the squadron to retreat back to the base, but Finn defied the order and attempted to fly his speeder into the cannon to destroy it. Rose intervened by crashing her speeder into his, preventing him from sacrificing himself, but sustaining severe injuries in the process.

Following the failed Resistance counter-attack, the Millennium Falcon, piloted by Chewbacca and Jedi Padawan Rey, arrived unexpectedly amidst the battle and engaged the TIE fighters overhead, drawing them away from the battlefield and ultimately destroying them as the Resistance was suffering heavy losses from the First Order's assault. With Rey operating the Falcon's lower AG-2G quad laser cannon, Chewbacca successfully lured 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.

Despite Rey's successful diversion of the First Order's air support, much to the Supreme Leader's annoyance, the Resistance continued to lose ground due to the First Order's overwhelming firepower as they drew closer to the base.

With the Resistance's efforts faltering, the First Order's cannon fired upon the base, easily penetrating the main doors. Supreme Leader Ren commanded General Hux to advance and show no mercy to their enemies, taking no prisoners. As snowtroopers began advancing through the breach, the Resistance realized that their messages to their allies had been received, but none had responded. The destruction of the Hosnian system had succeeded where the destruction of Alderaan and the Tarkin Doctrine had failed, instilling fear throughout the galaxy and deterring them from opposing the First Order. Overcome with sadness, Organa lost hope and declared that the spark was extinguished. In a desperate attempt, the Resistance prepared for a final stand.

As the Resistance contemplated their next move, Jedi Master Luke Skywalker unexpectedly appeared before the group, greeting his sister for the first time in years. He presented her with Solo's gold dice as a memento. Acknowledging his failure to prevent Ren's descent and to avert Solo's death, the last Jedi resolved to confront the First Order alone as a distraction, providing the Resistance with time to escape. Before facing his nephew, Skywalker silently acknowledged his old friend C-3PO as he proceeded towards his destiny.

As Skywalker emerged from the base, Ren ordered all walkers to target the Jedi Master in a futile attempt to destroy him. However, the Jedi miraculously remained unharmed, prompting Ren to confront his former master himself, despite Hux's contrary advice. In response, Kylo Ren used the Force to hurl Hux against a wall, temporarily incapacitating him.

Skywalker evaded Ren's lightsaber attacks, and after prolonging the encounter, Skywalker paused and apologized to Ren, admitting his failure. He informed his former student that victory was not as assured as he believed, that the war was only beginning, and that the Jedi would endure through Rey. He deactivated his lightsaber and offered Ren the opportunity to strike him down, warning that doing so in anger would only cause him pain, as killing Han had, and that in death, he would always be with his nephew. When Skywalker allowed Ren to strike him, the blade passed through his body without causing harm, revealing that Ren was fighting a Force projection of the Jedi, who remained on Ahch-To. Skywalker's projection vanished, enraging Ren.

Meanwhile, Dameron and C-3PO noticed that the vulptices, creatures inhabiting the caves, had departed through a natural exit. Following a remaining vulptex, Dameron led the surviving Resistance members in search of the exit. Thanks to the time gained by Skywalker's distraction, the Resistance discovered the end of the base's cave system, only to find 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 clear a path for the surviving Resistance fighters to escape to the Falcon, allowing them to live to fight another day.

The Battle of Crait resulted in a First Order victory; the Resistance's main force was reduced to a mere dozen individuals aboard a single vessel. However, the First Order failed to achieve its primary objective of completely annihilating the Resistance, as some members—including General Organa—escaped to continue their struggle. Ren also failed to extinguish the Jedi Order by killing Skywalker, who had projected his image across the galaxy.

Following the battle, Skywalker, having exerted himself greatly to buy time for the Resistance, became one with the Force. His passing was sensed by Rey and Organa, who noted his contentment and peace. Rey expressed concern that the Resistance was nearly destroyed, but Organa reassured her, stating that they possessed everything necessary to rebuild.

As Chewbacca and Nien Nunb piloted the Millennium Falcon through hyperspace, Dameron, Rey, and Finn gathered by the dejarik board and reflected on recent events. Dameron expressed his desire for a different outcome due to the Resistance's losses, but Rey emphasized the importance of not dwelling on changing the past. To divert their attention from recent setbacks, Dameron recounted his original mission to Jakku and his escape from the desert world after he and Finn had crashed. 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.

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. 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. 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.

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

The Resistance would eventually rebuild itself, gaining followers on Batuu and Ryloth. The war would continue for another year until the climatic Battle of Exegol which ended the First Order-Resistance War.

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. 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.