Great Sephiroth Plan

The Great Sephiroth Plan was a planned military offensive against Sephiroth by the Shinra Inc. in Final Fantasy VII. Although the second stage of the operation was never implemented, the plan nevertheless played a significant role in the turn of events in the struggle against Sephiroth.

Background
The Shinra Company has been chasing Sephiroth ever since he slaughtered President Shinra years after he was assumed dead. They eventually learn that Sephiroth is planning to summon Meteor with the intention of severely wounding the Planet. Both the company and the former members of AVALANCHE fails to stop the summoning, and Sephiroth sets up an energy barrier at North Crater in order to prevent his enemies from interfering with his plans.

The company plans to use the Junon Cannon to destroy Sephiroth's energy barrier at North Crater. The cannon is moved to Midgar, where its fire power will be boosted by the Mako Reactors of the city. The plan is to use the cannon to destroy Sephiroth's energy barrier before dispatching the entire Shinra army to North Crater to fight Sephiroth. In the game, the plan is mentioned by a soldier in Junon and some inhabitants in Kalm.

The operation
On January 14, εуλ 0008, the cannon is fired towards the North Crater barrier. At the same time, the Diamond Weapon approaches Midgar and attacks the city with powerful beams of energy. Although the cannon fire destroys both the Diamond Weapon and Sephiroth's barrier, the energy beams from the Diamond Weapon hits Midgar and presumably kills Rufus Shinra. The company falls apart in the ensuing chaos, and it is unknown what exactly became of the Great Sephiroth Plan (although the of any Shinra troops at North Crater suggests a cancellation).

Aftermath
Although the operation is presumably called off, it nevertheless has huge impact on the events in the game. The destruction of Sephiroth's energy barrier allows Cloud's party to enter the North Crater and engage Sephiroth, leading to his final defeat at the hands of Cloud Strife.