I remember that to fight the alien tripods, the military deployed a large group of hummers and one MBT. I assume this would not be the way it would be done IRL, or would it be?

Okay,until I see an official military TM on fighting aliens, I'll laugh at this question quietly so not as to shame anyone who tries to come up with some logical answer. Someone ones gonna try it though. They always do...

OK then ...

Interesting point about the Spielberg version is that it's never completely clear whether we know the Martians are actually from Mars - instead of green flashes observed through telescopes, you get lightning bolts activating buried machinery. It's a fair bet we'd guess they were Not From Round Here, especially if you take the Erich von Daniken view of history, but not certain.

Next thought: the machines appear to be invulnerable, particularly when the forcefield is switched on. Possibly another clue that they Ain't From Round Here ...

So, faced with this, the logical response would be (i) see what tehy do; (ii) when it's clear that they're murderous buggers and, far worse, Not From Round Here, chuck everything you've got at them. You'd start fairly low-key in an effort to avoid casualties on your own side (and save money) but it would escalate rapidly as we realised that we weren't facing any known technology. In real life, nuclear weapons would have to be a real possibility, once it becomes clear that the only alternative is for everyone to be eaten alive. The Hummers and MBTs weren't the only weapons used - I think there was at least one unrealistic swarm of fighter planes - so you can probably also conclude that central control would fray pretty quickly and any local unit still cohesive enough or bonkers enough to want to take a pop at the Martians would use whatever it had.

I finally saw this version a few weeks ago and was pleasantly surprised. It was even possible to have Tom Cruise on screen and not want to put my foot through it. Stil prefer the George Pal one, though, if only for the deathless dialogue. Sample: as Martian tripod floats towards reporters fifty feet up in the air, one of them says "it's some sort of flying machine!". They don't write 'em like that any more...

It would be a field manual (FM) and not a technical manual (TM). FMs normally contain doctrine and other "how-to" guides. TMs are for maintaining and operating materiel and equipment.

It would most likely be FM 3-something if one were to ever exist (3- series is operations); like FM 3-0.2010 Army Operations Against Hostile Extra-Terrestrials.

There could be applicable TMs, such as the operator's manual to the Gun, Giant, Anti-Alien Spacecraft.

There might well be one in reality. It so happens that there are laws on the books saying that if aliens were to land on Earth, they would have no civil rights and we could do anything with them. I read an article on this in the Chicago Tribune when the movie "E. T." came out.

FM or TMs, it won't matter much. FM whatever on how to run like hell from killer aliens, and TM on how to hold your bowels while running in such a matter. Thanks for the laughs guys. I love it!

Trying to answer a question, whether it is on a hypothetical scenario or not, is not laughable. Especially since this was posted on a forum for discussing TV and movies. Al

Actually,it is laughable whether on tv or not. Read between the lines man! Don't you get the joke?

Quote from above:
Okay,until I see an official military TM on fighting aliens, I'll laugh at this question quietly so not as to shame anyone who tries to come up with some logical answer. Someone ones gonna try it though. They always do...

"How to Build Your Own Robot Army" by Daniel H. Wilson, page 127, has a section on how to thwart an Alien Invasion. Sage advice.
His other book is a good time killing read as well. I believe it's called "How to Survive a Robot Uprising."

Thanks Rob, gonna check those books out. Can it be as entertaining as the Zombie survival guide?.....

More so. While it is meant for entertainment, the author does also happen to hold a PhD in robotics. Good illustrations too.

Ah, and if memory serves, the proper method for legged alien robots/vehicles is tripwires (or cables if they're large enough) with possible camouflaged pits to entrap the toppled monster.

Another tested method: recruit Dr Jekyll, separate Mr Hyde from him (discard Dr Jekyll at this point), let him loose on the tripod thingies. As he points out himself, bit of an engineering cock-up having three legs. It's all The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Vol 2, which I heartily recommend as a tonic to anyone who saw that execrable movie version.

I just saw the film yeasterday for the third time. Thought it was this time around i noticed, neer the end, that the U.S army uses the "Gustaf" ( Carl Gustaf) missile launcher to tage out the tripod in the city.
No Javeline but the Gustav !?

The best way to kill aliens is to use Swedish steel