The War of the Worlds

An early science fiction invasion novel (or novella), The War of the Worlds (1898), by H. G. Wells, describes the fictional turn of the nineteenth century invasion of Earth by aliens, from Mars, who use laser-like Heat-Rays, chemical weapons (the Black smoke), mechanical three-legged "fighting machines," and crab-like handling-machines. After defeating the resistance, the Martians devastate much of south-eastern England, including London, before being unexpectedly killed by terrestrial diseases, to which they have no immunity.