Why doesn't wells choose a more familiar enemy to launch an attack on england, instead of martians, in the war of the worlds?

I believe that Wells chose to present aliens as the enemy so as to tell people they shouldn't believe everything they hear on TV, or in this case, the radio. He presented his story as if it were real news - Martians are attacking the Earth, you better run. Even though it is just a story, still people believed it to be true, and were frightened.