claim: The Indian National Congress was disbanded in December 1885.
evidence: The Knight 's Cross of the Iron Cross -LRB- Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes -RRB- and its variants were the highest awards in the military of the Third Reich during World War II .. Third Reich. Third Reich. World War II. World War II. The Knight 's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded for a wide range of reasons and across all ranks , from a senior commander for skilled leadership of his troops in battle to a low-ranking soldier for a single act of extreme gallantry .. A total of 7,321 awards were made between its first presentation on 30 September 1939 and its last bestowal on 17 June 1945 .. This number is based on the acceptance of the Association of Knight 's Cross Recipients -LRB- AKCR -RRB- .. Presentations were made to members of the three military branches of the Wehrmacht -- the Heer -LRB- Army -RRB- , Kriegsmarine -LRB- Navy -RRB- and Luftwaffe -LRB- Air Force -RRB- -- as well as the Waffen-SS , the Reichsarbeitsdienst -LRB- RAD -- Reich Labour Service -RRB- and the Volkssturm -LRB- German national militia -RRB- .. Wehrmacht. Wehrmacht. Heer. German Army ( Wehrmacht ). Army. Army. Kriegsmarine. Kriegsmarine. Navy. Navy. Luftwaffe. Luftwaffe. Air Force. Air Force. Waffen-SS. Waffen-SS. Reichsarbeitsdienst. Reichsarbeitsdienst. Volkssturm. Volkssturm. militia. militia. There were also 43 recipients in the military forces of allies of the Third Reich .. Third Reich. Third Reich. recipients in the military forces of allies of the Third Reich. List of foreign recipients of the Knight's Cross. These recipients are listed in the 1986 edition of Walther-Peer Fellgiebel 's book , Die Trager des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 -- 1945 -- Die Inhaber der hochsten Auszeichnung des Zweiten Weltkrieges aller Wehrmachtteile -- The Bearers of the Knight 's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939 -- 1945 -- The Owners of the Highest Award of the Second World War of all Wehrmacht Branches .. Wehrmacht. Wehrmacht. Walther-Peer Fellgiebel. Walther-Peer Fellgiebel. Fellgiebel was the former chairman and head of the order commission of the AKCR .. In 1996 a second edition of this book was published with an addendum delisting 11 of these original recipients .. Author and historian Veit Scherzer has cast doubt on a further 193 of these listings .. The majority of the disputed recipients had received the award in 1945 , when the deteriorating situation of the Third Reich during the final days of World War II left a number of nominations incomplete and pending in various stages of the approval process .. Third Reich. Third Reich. World War II. World War II. Scherzer wrote his book in cooperation with the German Federal Archives .. German Federal Archives. German Federal Archives. The book was chosen by Prof. Dr. Franz W. Seidler for the library of the Bundeswehr University Munich and Deutsche Dienststelle -LRB- WASt -RRB- and is considered an accepted reference there .. Franz W. Seidler. Franz W. Seidler. Bundeswehr University Munich. Bundeswehr University Munich. For many years Fellgiebel 's book was considered the main reference work on this topic , and it has now been succeeded by Scherzer 's work .. Listed here are the 188 Knight 's Cross recipients whose last name starts with `` E '' .. Author and historian Veit Scherzer has challenged the validity of three of these listings .. The recipients are initially ordered alphabetically by last name .. The rank listed is the recipient 's rank at the time the Knight 's Cross was awarded .