Well, I guess it depends on how big the Martian invasion was, and how long it lasted before the germs got 'em.  If there were thousands or tens of thousands of cylinder landings all over the planet, then maybe enough people were killed to really change the flow of history as we know it.  The Far East War in the core IS book seems to imply that that isn't the case, though. 

OTOH, if there were only a small number of landings (as an experiment, or to establish a beachhead, or as recon) and the damage was concentrated in the large cities of Europe (and perhaps America), then there might not have been great timeline changes from what we know, at least not right away.  The colonies might be a little more independent in the face of weakened European military strength, but they also wouldn't have access to captured Martian tech, which would tend to quickly restore the First World's military-technological advantage despite invasion casualties.

Of course, if the landings *were* more widespread than WotW seems to imply, then everybody gets a shot at grabbing derelict tripods and landers and the like.  The industrial nations might be more able to take advantage of the windfall at first, but even Third World countries might be able to duplicate the tech by hiring outside advisors.  "Mercenary scientists" selling technical expertise might be a hot commodity in this case, supplied no doubt by either unscrupulous industrialists, sinister anarchists, or the World Crime League.  At the very least, I'm sure Nemo will be happy to upgrade the Nautilus...heat rays are good fun.

Rich

There's always one guy that quibbles because he didn't see the story playing outthat way - I oughta know, because *I* think that way. :-)

I think that Martians didn't have things like bacteria to deal with on Mars - or they had been conquered so far in the distant past that they were forgotten.

That being said - if they had defeated us in detail in our population centers with their then-superior technology, it makes perfect sense. It's a sound military concept to hit the hardest targets first - which is what they did in the book - but they were felled by an un-noticed threat.

If they had not been felled by bacteria, we would have been hunted down in detail after they had destroyed the major military threats to them. This aruges for fewer cylinders centered on the major military powers. There's no need for thousands of cylinders, when you've got that kind of technology edge.

Orbital mechanics alone might explain why the Martians have been quiet....waiting for another close approach, and working on their vaccines while they're at it.

OTOH, if we want the Martians to play a role in Iron Stars (other than as skeet targets), they need to have something better than interplanetary cannon shells for ships.  I still maintain we can give them proper spacecraft (saucers, of course) without contradicting Wells, whose POV characters are less than omniscient.  Make the cylinders the assault landing craft, launched from saucers in orbit rather than Mars (added advantage of being less absurd in terms of real physics), with the actual ships depending on the landing force to build a spaceport for them to land at.  Ergo, when the troops all fell over dead, the fleet was left with no choice but to bombard or withdraw...or maybe both.  Maybe some of the saucers went home to spread the news, and some are out in the Belt rigging a few kinetic weapon surprises for London...

The "lights on Mars" in that case would be the final nuclear exchange that unified Mars under one government, whilst simultaneously damaging the ecosphere beyond recovery...hence the sudden interest in finding a new place to live.

Rich

Of course. How could I forget?

Certainly some genetic manipulation is in order (or better vaccines, as Rich suggested), but I've always hated the "They Walk Among Us" cliche'.

Martian should always look like Martians-- besides, we're using the half-breed thing for Space Fleet Omega...

However, there would be no shortage of Humans who would be willing to cooperate with Martians in sowing chaos among the governments of Earth-- anarchists would likely have no compunction about it, or at least would be easy to manipulate.

Perhaps slightly irrelevant, but there was a TV show on the BBC years ago called Tripods.  Basically dealt with the Earth under Martian Law:

"The epic story of an invaded earth was shown in 1984 and 1985.

It centred on a young man called Will who was struggling against the Tripods - giant three-legged machines that stalked the land, keeping humanity enslaved.

The Tripods was based on John Christopher's trilogy of books. Well, most of it was. The BBC did two series, and then cancelled the third - so we saw Will and his friends escape from England, fall in love, harvest grapes, join the resistance, invade the city of the Tripods, escape and then ... well, we never really found out what happened next."

Anyone read these?  May give another perspective on target cities, how the planet fell?

This may be true... for the second attempt.

But the first time around, the Martians did invade at least one population center (London); and it's likely they had little fear of being repelled (for obvious reasons, as it turned out). Even now, the Martians are probably unafraid of human weapons and technology -- although they may suspect we've been busy in the years since.

Moscow
LA
Beijing
Mexico City
Rio

Munich, clearly.  Everybody loves pop music...even Martians.

Yeah, it's a song reference. 

Rich

So the Martians were operating under Plan 'M'?

As for collaborators with Martians I would nominate a group of Nihlists.  Take the following quotes:

"Nihilism is . . . not only the belief that everything deserves to perish; but one actually puts one's shoulder to the plough; one destroys" (Will to Power - Nietzsche)

"Let us put our trust in the eternal spirit which destroys and annihilates only because it is the unsearchable and eternally creative source of all life--the passion for destruction is also a creative passion!" (Reaction in Germany - Mikhael Bakunin)

And wouldn't the Martians be the perfect tool to destroy Earth civlization.  Basic ideology would be destroy the human race so that another dominant lifeform could evolve.  Perhaps that lifeform would be an Ubermensch that would be worthy of living.  I can just imagine the arguments this group would have with themselves.  Makes goths look like Pollyanna.

True enough.

"Anarchists" are by definition "terrorists"... except that anarchists are honest about the fact that they enjoy chaos, whereas terrorists (try to) hide their evil streak behind a pseudo-political agenda...

I'll resist the urge to escalate the subject creep and just say I see your point.

Bringing us back to topic, I think it's becoming obvious that there were factions in the world that would be ripe for Martian plucking, so to speak, while they readied themselves for the inevitable second Invasion.

I guess I've been assuming from Day One that the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand would have been orchestrated by Others -- but whether those are Martians per se, or Someone Else, I haven't quite figured out yet...

And don't forget we've got about 5 years still to cover before we get to WW1. And someone was saying we were moving too quickly...

Dan

Actually, with a bit of fudging, you could make WitA fit. But it changes entirely the balance of power on Earth as I see it shaping up in IS.

I'm open to any and all suggestions.

However, I don't recognize "Tsar Wars" or "Natas"...