Hanoi

Hanoi is the capital of Vietnam and the country's second largest city. From 1010 until 1802, it was the most important political centre of Vietnam. It was eclipsed by Huế, the imperial capital of Vietnam during the Nguyen dynasty (1802-1945), but Hanoi served as the capital of French Indochina from 1902 to 1954. From 1954 to 1976, it was the capital of North Việt Nam, and it became the capital of a reunified Vietnam in 1976, after the North's victory in the Vietnam war.

Hanoi in The War That Came Early
Hanoi was an important city in French Indochina, and the French Empire in the Pacific.

When World War II began in 1938, French forces were left isolated as France it's self came under attack from Germany, and almost lost the capital.

In January 1941, Japan opened up the war in the Pacific, and was able to easily take Hanoi from the French. It later became a stopping over point for military convoys heading to Burma.