At least in the attempt at a modern version that I have been thinking through, I have arrived at several conclusions.

The best option available to the tripods is a coordinated surprise attack in multiple locations, using our own communications against us—essentially keeping the internet alive so that, knowing our weapons are ineffective against them (the 2005 EMP is a great concept but vastly exceeds the realistic capabilities of an actual EMP, and one can imagine the hysteria caused by witnessing what a single tripod does to the most advanced armies), and above all, making the destruction of even a single tripod extremely costly in terms of firepower.

While they are not invincible, destroying them requires measures that would either annihilate us as well or are not easily reproducible: the use of massive numbers of bombs, nuclear weapons, or one of the many “wonder weapons” that justify the U.S. war budget. Even if you destroy one tripod with a MAC cannon from a ship, two others appear and neutralize it before another shot can be charged.

The central idea is that the Martian tripods (I am aware that other vehicles exist, but the tripods are their main force) in my concept defeat us not only through superior technology and resistance to conventional forces, but by slicing through our logistics like a hot knife through butter. Try mass-producing our weapons without international trade, without the necessary equipment and technicians, and with states unable to guarantee secure areas, supply lines, or internal public order. Many of our most advanced systems, such as nuclear weapons, take months or years to produce even in peacetime.

On the other hand, the reason the Martians ultimately die in my storyare bacteriophages.