It was reported to have declared war against the United Kingdom in September 1940,[1] though the Sammarinese government later transmitted a message to the British government stating that it had not.[2] In early 1942, the Sammarinese government reiterated it was not at war with the United States, a position that was confirmed by the US State Department.[2] The British Foreign Office noted more equivocally in 1944 that Britain had never declared war, but also had never formally recognised San Marino's neutrality, and that it felt that military action on Sammarinese territory would be justified if it were being used by Axis forces.[3]