With the V Army Corps Stadion participated in the Second Italian War of Independence in 1859 against the French-Sardinian coalition in Lombardy. Together with his chief of staff, Colonel Josef Freiherr von Ringelsheim, his troops fought in the opening battle — the Battle of Montebello, on 20 May 1859 — and after retreating from that battlefield he fell back to the bridgehead at Vacarezza. In the Battle of Solferino on 24 June 1859, his troops were concentrated in the center, where they succumbed despite putting up a steadfast defense against the French. Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria honored him with the Order of the Iron Crown First Class including war decoration.