How did erwin rommel get that rank?

Answer 1

Rommel attained high rank because he was a favorite of Hitler, and as a reward for his personal loyalty to the Fuhrer.

The hardest step on the climb up the military ladder is that from colonel to general. There is only a little room at the top of the pyramid. In professional, regular armies, officers who seem likely to have the potential to make a general go to professional schools within their service - in Britain, the Imperial War College, in the US, the Command and General Staff School, in Germany the Kriegsakademie. This is the equivalent of a graduate degree in military command. To get to attend, an officer has to be selected by those who best know his performance and potential - his superior officers.

In an army which no one has ever claimed lacked professionalism the evaluation of his peers was that Rommel did not have what it takes, and he never attended the German general staff college. Rommel was an obscure colonel, but, was commanding Hitler's bodyguard, when the Fuhrer elevated him, not for his ability, but his loyalty.

The Germans had a large number of very able general officers. The allied estimation of Rommel as a formidable foe seems to be a function of the fact that he was the opposing commander. If he was good, and we beat him, then we must be better, right?

The only time after Hitler lifted him to the heights that Rommel had independent command was in North Africa. He overextended his supply lines by hundreds of miles chasing the British toward Egypt. Worse, he had only a single supply line, which ran along the North African coast, at a time when he had command of neither the sea nor the air. Then, having climbed out to the very end of the limb, he obligingly remained there, until Montgomery was at last ready to launch his set-piece attack at Alamein. Then Rommel's force had to retreat every step of the way he had overextended himself. Perhaps he might have avoided these errors had he had the benefit of training at the Kreigsakademie. At least, he might have been aware of the risks he was running.

The other wartime command for which Rommel is known is for his preparation of the beach defenses which the Allies encountered landing in Normandy. Rommel showed admirable energy in this role, and performed near miracles in advancing the state of defensive preparations. But, to attempt to be strong everywhere usually means to be strong nowhere, and, in the event, Rommel's vaunted defenses of "Festung Europa" were breached in a day.