war of the worlds book?

Question

in the book, War of the Worlds, how was the first cylinder is destroyed?
What was the military planning to do about the cylinders?

Answer 1

The first cylinder was not destroyed. On Horsell Common it caused chaos with its heat-ray, though the threat was considered limited as the alien was not mobile. Artillery with a longer reach than the heat ray was seen as the answer.
But from the pit rose the fighting machine, which incinerated the the military cordon, including the artillery.

From then on the machines, not the cylinders, were the main problem. Machines are recorded as falling to opening shots of gun batteries, but the retaliation was almost instant and massive. The ray, or the black smoke...

"...bows and arrows against the lightning..."